Crown and Anchor, by John Conroy Hutcheson. 

________________________________________________________________________This book is by a really good contemporary authority on how vessels ofthe Royal Navy were managed in the late nineteenth century, thereforeevery page rings true. Some of the best parts are quite early in thebook, when our hero and his ship go to investigate a sinking wreck inthe Bay of Biscay, which had been reported to them by a French warshipthey had encountered. 

The vessel is sent on to other stations, and in particular to the Chinaone, where several notable incidents occur. This book is a very goodyarn, and it makes a very good audiobook. 

________________________________________________________________________CROWN AND ANCHOR, BY JOHN CONROY HUTCHESON. 

CHAPTER ONE. 

AN OLD SEA-LION. 

"Hullo, Dad!" I cried out, stopping abruptly in front of the redgranite coloured Reform Club, down the marble steps of which aqueer-looking old gentleman was slowly descending. "Who is that funnyold fellow there? He's just like that `old clo'' man we saw at thecorner of the street this morning, only that he hasn't got three hatson, one on top of another, the same as the other chap had!"

We were walking along Pall Mall on our way from Piccadilly to Whitehall, where my father intended calling in at the Admiralty to put in a sort ofofficial appearance on his return to England after a long period offoreign service; and Dad was taking advantage of the opportunity to showme a few of the sights of London that came within our ken, everythingbeing strange to me, for I had never set foot in the metropolis beforethe previous evening, when mother and I had come up by a late train fromthe little Hampshire village where we lived, to meet father on hisarrival and welcome him home. 

Under these circumstances, therefore, as might reasonably have beenexpected, our halts had been already frequent and oft to satisfy thecravings of my wondering fancy; and Dad must have been tired ofanswering my innumerable questions and inquiries ere half our journeyhad been accomplished. 

He was very good-tempered and obliging, however, and bore with mepatiently, giving me all the information in his power concerning thevarious persons and objects that attracted my attention, and never"turning nasty" at my insatiable curiosity. 

So now, as heretofore, obedient to my bidding, he turned to look in thedirection to which I pointed. 

"Where's your friend, the funny old fellow you spoke of, my boy?" hesaid kindly, though half-quizzingly. "I don't see him, Jack. "

"Why, there he is, right opposite to us, Dad!" I exclaimed. "He'scoming down the steps from that doorway there, and is quite close to usnow!"

"Oh! that's your friend, Jack, eh?" said father, glancing in his turn atthe old gentleman who had caught my eye. "Let me see if I can make himout for you. "

The old fellow was not one whom an ordinary observer would style a grandpersonage, or think worthy of notice in any way, very probably; and yet, there was something about him which irresistibly attracted my attentionmaking me wonder who he was and want to know all about him. Boy thoughI was, and new to London and London life, I was certain, I'm sure Ican't tell why, that he must be "somebody. "

A short broad-shouldered man was he, with iron-grey hair, and a veryprominent nose that was too strongly curved to be called aquiline, andwhich, with his angular face, equally tanned to a brick-dust hue fromexposure to wind and weather, gave him a sort of eagle-like look, animpression that was supported by his erect bearing and air of command;albeit, sixty odd years or more must have rolled over his head, and hisgreat width of chest, as he moved downwards throwing out his long arms, made his thick-set figure seem stumpier than it actually was, though, like most sailors of the old school, there was no denying the fact, asDad said subsequently, that he was "broad in the beam and Dutch builtover all!"

Nature had, undoubtedly, done much for the old gentleman, but artlittle, so far as his personal appearance was concerned; for nothingcould have been more quaint and out of keeping with Pall Mall and itsfashionable surroundings than his eccentric costume. 

The upper part of his person was habited in a rough shooting-jacket, considerably the worse for wear, such as a farmer or gamekeeper mighthave donned in the country, away from the busy haunts of men, when outin the coverts or engaged thinning the preserves; while his lowerextremities rejoiced in a yet shabbier pair of trousers, whose shortnessfor their wearer did not tend to enhance their artistic effect. 

To complete the picture, his bushy head of iron-grey hair was surmountedby an old beaver hat that had once been white, but which inexorable Timehad mellowed in tone, and whose nap, having been brushed up the wrongway, against the grain, frizzed out around its circumference like afurze bush, making it resemble the "fretful porcupine" spoken of by theimmortal Shakespeare. 

His whole appearance was altogether unique for a West-end thoroughfarein the height of the season; and, the more especially, too, at that timeof day, when dandies of the first water were sauntering listlessly alongthe shady side of the pavement ogling the gorgeously-attired ladies whorolled by in their stately barouches drawn by prancing horses that musthave cost fortunes, and on whose boxes sat stately coachmen andimmaculate footmen clad in liveries beyond price, "Solomon in all hisglory" not approaching their radiant magnificence!

Emerging as he did, however, from the Reform Club, the old gentleman'sunconventional "rig-out" bore testimony to the incontrovertible factthat, no matter how "advanced" his principles may have become from theteachings of Cobden, and the example of Peel, he had not allowed hispolitical convictions to revolutionise his original ideas on the subjectof dress. 

Nor was this the only peculiarity noticeable about the queer-looking oldfellow. 

He was coming down the steps of the club-house, while Dad and I lookedat him, so slowly that his dilatory rate of progression conveyed theimpression that he was either a martyr to corns or suffering from arecent attack of the gout; feeling his way carefully with one foot firstbefore bringing along its fellow, prior to adventuring the next step, just as my baby sister, a little toddlekin of six, used to go up anddownstairs. 

This, of course, was not so remarkable in itself, but as he descendedthus, crab-fashion, to the level of the pavement where Dad and I stoodobserving him, my eyes grew wide with wonder at the enormous handfuls ofsnuff he took--not pinches, such as I had seen snuff-takers sniff upfrom the backs of their hands many a time before, without bestowing athought on the action. 

Oh, no, nothing of the sort!

They were actual handfuls that he extracted from his waistcoat pocket, as I could not help noticing, on account of his roomy shooting-jacketbeing wide open and thrown back; the old prodigal scooping up thefragrant dust in his palm, and then doubling his fist and shoving it uphis nostrils with a violent snort of inhalement, after which heproceeded to blow his red nose with another loud report, like that of ablunderbuss going off. This was accompanied by the flourish of abrightly coloured pocket-handkerchief, whose vivid hue approximatedclosely to the general tint of his cheeks and eagle-like beak, and whichhe held loosely, ready for action, in his disengaged left hand; for, hisright was ever at work oscillating between the magazine of snuff in hisdeep waistcoat pocket and the nasal promontory that consumed it withalmost rhythmical regularity, sniff and snort and resonant trumpet blastof satisfaction succeeding each other in systematic sequence, as theveteran came down the stairway leisurely, step by step. 

It all appeared to me very comical; but, I did not laugh at the old manas another youngster might very pardonably have done, without anythought of mocking or making fun of him. 

To tell the truth, he seemed to me to be so out of place there that Iwas actually pained on his account, believing, in my innocent ignorance, that he had unhappily made a mistake in going up to the members'entrance of the grand-looking club-house; and that the fat hall-porterin scarlet, who now stood without the swinging glass doors of theportal, had warned him thence, ordering him, so it struck my fancy, togo down below by way of the area steps, to the basement of theestablishment, where his business would probably rather lie with thelower menials of the mansion than with such an august personage as he, one who acted solely as the janitor to the great ones of the earthpossessing the password of the club!

Yes, this was the thought uppermost in my mind; and, as thequeer-looking old gentleman continued to hobble downwards I began towonder whether the scullions in the kitchen, whom I could dimly discernbeneath the street level and behind a screen of iron railings, wouldnot, likewise, turn up their noses at the sight of such a seedyindividual, telling him they had no rags or bones or bottles for himto-day. 

"Poor old fellow!" I said to Dad, uttering my reflections aloud. "Whatcould have made him act so foolishly as to go up there only to be turnedaway by that bumptious porter? How very shabby he is, Dad; and withsuch a noble face, too! May I give him that shilling you made me apresent of this morning to buy himself some more snuff? He must haveexhausted all he had in his waistcoat pocket by now; he does use it soextravagantly!"

"Hush, Jack, he may hear you!" whispered my father, dropping his voiceto a lower key than mine, while the amused expression on his facechanged to one of pleased recognition. "Why, it's the old Admiral! Isee he's as great a snuff-taker as ever, and he seems to be even lesscareful than he used to be about his clothes; though, I must say, henever was a dandy at the best of times!"

At the moment Dad spoke, the old gentleman set his right foot gingerlyon the pavement in front of us, his left following a second later, whenthe veteran signalised his reaching a sound anchorage with a final blastfrom his nasal trumpet and a fine flourish of his bandana, which nearlyknocked out my nearest eye and set me sneezing from the loose particlesof snuff disseminated into the surrounding air. 

This gave my father the opportunity he wanted. 

"How do you do, Admiral?" said he, drawing himself up and raising hishat in salute, while still holding me by the hand. "I don't know if youremember me, sir, but I cannot forget you and your kindness to me ofold, especially in getting me my last appointment. I'm glad to see youlooking so well, sir!"

The old fellow stared at Dad with his gimlet grey eyes, looking himthrough and through, knitting his brows, and sniffing and snorting at afine rate. 

"Eh--what, who the deuce are you?" he ejaculated in short, jerky accentsafter a pause, evidently puzzled for the nonce, and, in his agitation, another fistful of snuff got arrested half-way between his waistcoatpocket and expectant nose, the consequence of which was that more thanhalf was spilt on the front of his shirt, and already snuff-stained coatcollar. "Eh, what? I think I know your face, but I'm hanged if I canrecollect your name, sir!"

Dad smiled, and, whether this supplied a missing link to memory's aid orno, the next instant a gleam of intelligence flashed across theveteran's weatherbeaten face making him look so animated that he seemeda different person. 

Shoving out his horny fist, forgetful of the balance of snuff containedtherein, and thus causing me to sneeze again, as well as nearly blindingme for a second time, the rough old sailor caught hold of my father'sdisengaged hand with a grip of iron, shouting a welcome in his hearty, loud voice which could have been heard across Pall Mall; for it was asbreezy as the sea, echoing in ringing accents whose cordial tones I canalmost fancy I now hear, like the surf of breakers breaking in thedistance on some rock-bound shore. 

"Bless my soul, Vernon! Is that you, my lad, hey?" he roared out, making a dandified exquisite, who was just then lounging past us, jumpinto the gutter and soil his polished patent leathers in nervous alarm. "Glad to see me, you said? Stuff and nonsense, you rascal--you're nothalf so pleased as I am to clap my eyes on you again! Gad, you youngscamp, why, it seems only the other day when I sent you to themast-head, you remember, when you were a middy with me in the _Neptune_?It was for cutting off the tail of my dog Ponto, and you said--thoughthat was all moonshine, of course--you did it to cure him of fits! ByGeorge! what a terrible young scapegrace you were, to be sure, Vernon, always in mischief from sunrise to gunfire, and always at loggerheadswith my first lieutenant and the master, poor old Cosine!"

CHAPTER TWO. 

THE ADMIRAL SPEAKS HIS MIND. 

I had been fidgeting all the time the old gentleman was speakingsqueezing Dad's hand in order to attract his attention and make him tellme who his old friend was; but, for the moment, he was too much taken upwith the veteran's hearty greeting to give ear to me. 

At last, however, in response to another squeeze of my hand, he bentdown towards me, expecting, no doubt, some such inquiry. 

"Who is it, Dad?" I whispered, dying with curiosity. "Who is it?"

"Admiral Sir Charles Napier, Jack, " he replied, under his breath, "latecommander-in-chief of the Baltic Fleet. "

I doffed my cap at once, for I had often heard my father mention thename of the gallant old sailor before, though I hardly expected to seehim in such a guise. 

"Hullo, who've we got here?" cried the Admiral, noticing my action andpatting my head in recognition of the salute with his snuffy palm. "Your son, Vernon, eh?"

"Yes, Admiral, " said Dad, "this is my boy, Jack. "

"Ha! humph! He's a smart-looking youngster, Vernon, and the very imageof what you were at his age! How old is he?"

"Nearly fourteen now, sir, " answered my father. "I'm afraid, though, Master Jack is rather a small boy for his years, being short andthick-set. "

"Not a serious fault that, Vernon. He'll, be able to go aloft morenimbly than any of those lamp-post sort of chaps with long legs, whoalways trip themselves up in the ratlines. Look at me, youngster, I'mnot a big man, and yet I've not been the worse sailor on that account, Ithink!"

"True, Sir Charles, " replied Dad with a sly twinkle in his eye, "butwe're not all of the same tough stock and `ready--ay, ready' on alloccasions when wanted, though we might be willing enough, to do ourduty. "

"Gammon, Vernon, none of your blarney!" growled out the old sea-lion, pretending to be angry, albeit he looked pleased at Dad's covertallusion to the Napier motto, which he had always endeavoured to act upto. "I'm sick of false compliments, old shipmate. I've had plenty ofthem and to spare from those mealy-mouthed, false-hearted, longshorelubbers in there!"

"What!" exclaimed my father, as the Admiral jerked his head with anexpression of contempt in the direction of the club-house he had justleft--"you don't mean to say, sir--"

"Ay! but I do mean to say they're a lot of confounded hypocrites, byGeorge!" roared out the old sailor, his face flushing to almost a purplehue, while he snatched at another handful of snuff from his waistcoatpocket, and sniffed and snorted like a grampus. "Why, you'll hardlybelieve it, Vernon! But, only a couple of years ago, when I wasstarting for the Baltic, and in high favour with the ministry, thosemiserable time-servers in there gave a public dinner in my honour inthat very club; and now, by George! because things did not go all right, and I wasn't able to smash-up the Russian fleet as everybody expected Iwould do, and so I would have done, too, by George! if I'd been allowedmy own way, the mean-spirited parasites almost cut me to a man--to aman, by George!"

"It's a rascally shame, sir, " said my father, getting hot with righteousindignation in sympathy at this scurvy treatment of one whom he hadserved under, and looked upon as an honoured chief; while I felt soangry myself, that I should have liked to have gone up the steps of theclub-house there and then, and dragged down from his proud post the fat, red-liveried porter who was looking down on the veteran from the top ofthe stairway, regarding that pampered menial as the cause and occasionof the slight of which he complained. "Never mind, though, Admiral! youcan well afford to treat their mean conduct with the contempt itdeserves; for everybody whose opinion is worth anything knows that SirCharles Napier won his laurels as a brave and skilful commander longbefore the Reform Club was founded or the Crimean war thought of. Believe me, sir, history will yet do you justice. "

"Ay! when I've gone to my last muster, " growled out the old fellowhuskily, in a sad tone, which sent a responsive chill to my heart. "But, that won't be your fault, Vernon. Thank you, my lad, I knowyou're not talking soft solder, so as to get to wind'ard of me, likethose fellows in there. Longshore lubbers like those never recollectwhat a man may have done for his country in times gone by. They liveonly in the present; and, if a chap chances to make a mistake, as thebest of us will sometimes, they fall on him like a pack of curs on arat, and worry him to death, by George!"

"The idle gossip of the clubs need not affect you, sir, " replied myfather consolingly. "Not a man in England of any sense is ignorant ofthe fact that it is none of your fault that the Baltic Fleet was sentout on a wild-goose chase and failed to capture Cronstadt and annihilatethe Russian ships inside that stronghold; though, I believe, you wouldhave astonished old Nick if you had been allowed a free hand!"

"Humph! I don't know about that, Vernon, but I'd have tried to, " saidthe Admiral, smiling. The next minute, however, he knit his shaggyeyebrows and looked so fierce that the thought occurred to me that Iwould not have liked just then to be in the position of defaulterbrought up before him on his quarter-deck and awaiting condignpunishment; for, he went on growling away angrily, as the recollectionsof the past surged up in his mind. "By George! it makes my blood boil, Vernon, as I think of it now. How could I succeed out there when thosenincompoops at home in the Ministry did not want me to do anything butplay their miserable shilly-shally game of drifting with the tide anddoing nothing! I was told I wasn't to do this and I wasn't to do that, while all the time that cute old fox the Czar Nicholas was completinghis preparations. Why, would you believe it, Vernon, there wasn't asingle long-winded despatch sent out to me by the Cabinet that did notcountermand the one that came before?"

Dad laughed cheerily, trying to make the old sailor forget his wrongs. 

"Even the immortal Nelson would have been unable to do anything undersuch conditions, Sir Charles, " he said, as the Admiral paused to takebreath, sniffing up another handful of snuff with an angry snort. "Those jacks in office at home are always interfering with things theyknow nothing about. How can they possibly have the means at theircommand like the man on the scene of action, one whom they themselveshave selected for his supposed capacity? But, they will interfere, sir. They have always done so; and always will, I suppose!"

"Gad, you put it better than I could, Vernon. I didn't think you such asmart sea lawyer, " said the old Admiral, rather grimly, notover-pleased, I think, at Dad's taking up the burthen of his grievances. "Know nothing, you say? Of course they know nothing, the government, hang it! was a cabinet of nincompoops, I tell you--Aberdeen, Graham andthe whole lot of 'em! If they could have mustered a single statesmanamongst 'em who had pluck enough to tell Russia at the outset that ifshe laid hands on Turkey we should have considered it an ultimatum, there would never have been any war at all--the Emperor Nicholasconfessed as much on his death-bed. It was all want of backbone thatdid it--not of the English nation, thank God! but of the government orministry of the time. Some governments we've had, ay, and since then, too, Vernon, have been the curse of our country!"

"Ay, Admiral, " responded my father, heartily, "I know that well!"

"Yes, they were all shilly-shally from first to last, " continued the oldsailor, warming up to his theme. "Why, when the Russians actually firedon our flag--the Union Jack of England, sir, that had never previouslybeen insulted with impunity--they actually blamed me for returning thefire, and recalled me for it! I tell you what it is, Vernon, they wereall a pack of pusillanimous time-servers, frightened at their ownshadows; and, between you and me and the bedpost, that chap, JimmyGraham, our precious late First Lord of the Admiralty, knew as muchabout a ship as a Tom cat does of logarithms, by George!"

Dad smiled at his vehemence, and I chuckled audibly; the Admiral'ssimile seeming very funny to me. 

The old sailor patted me on the head approvingly. 

"Ay, you may well laugh, youngster, " said he, looking very fierce withhis knitted eyebrows, though speaking to me good-naturedly enough. "Thewhole business would make a cat laugh were it not so humiliating, byGeorge! But, avast there! let us drop it; for we've had enough of it bynow and to spare. Things, though, were very different, Vernon, when youand I sailed together. I tell you what it is, my lad, the service isgoing to the devil, that's what it is!"

"By Jove! you're right, sir, I quite agree with you there, " chorused Dadwith much effusion, speaking evidently from the bottom of his heart. "Everything is changed, Admiral, to what we were accustomed to in thegood old times when I had the luck to serve under you; and, I'm afraid, sir, we'll never see such times again. There's no chance for a poorfellow like me nowadays at the Admiralty as I know to my cost! No onehas an opening given him unless he's acquainted with some bigwig with ahandle to his name, or knows the Secretary's niece, or the chiefmessenger's aunt. Otherwise, he may as well whistle for the moon as askfor a ship!"

"That's true enough, Vernon, by George!" said the Admiral, with equalheat. "Interest with the Board is everything in these times, andpersonal merit nothing! You may be the smartest sailor that ever trod aquarter-deck and they will look askance at you at Whitehall; but, onlyget some Lord Tom Noddy to back up your claims on an ungrateful countryor show those Admiralty chaps that you know a Member of Parliament ortwo, and can control a division in the House of Commons, then, byGeorge! it is wonderful, Vernon, how suddenly the great Mister Secretaryof the Board will recognise your previously unknown abilities and othergood qualities to which he has hitherto been blind, and how anxious theFirst Lord will be to promote you--eh, Vernon, you rascal? Ho! ho! ho!"

Dad joined in the hearty roar of laughter, with which the Admiral endedhis sarcastic comments, the recital of which had apparently eased hismind and banished the last lingering recollections of the ill-treatmenthe had received at the hands of the government; for the old sailor nowdismissed the subject, going on to talk about old shipmates and othermatters as they sauntered onwards along Pall Mall, the Admiral hobblingon one side of Dad and I on the other, holding his hand, listeningeagerly all the while to their animated conversation and taking in everyword of it. I confess, however, I could not understand all theirallusions to old times and byegone events afloat and ashore, many of thenames and incidents mentioned in their talk being altogether unfamiliarto my ears. 

"Where are you off to now, Vernon?" inquired Admiral Napier, stopping totake snuff again when we arrived at the last lamp-post at the cornerabutting on Waterloo Place. "If you're not otherwise engaged, come backwith me and have lunch at the club, you and the youngster. "

"Thank you very much, Admiral, " returned Dad, "I would be only to glad, but, to tell the truth, I'm bound for the Admiralty. "

"Ah! you want to see Mister Secretary just after he has finished _his_lunch!" said the knowing old fellow, giving Dad a dig in the ribs. "Slydog! I suppose you think you'll have a better chance of working towin'ard of him then?"

"That's it, Admiral, " said my father, laughing. "There's no good in afellow trying to bamboozle you, sir. "

"No, by George!" chuckled the old fellow, mightily pleased at thistribute to his "cuteness", "you'd have to get up precious early in themorning to take me in as you know from old experience of me, Vernon!But, what the deuce are you going to Whitehall to kick your heels therefor? They'll only keep you waiting an hour in that infernalwaiting-room, and then tell you the Secretary's gone for the day, orsome other bouncer, just to get rid of you. I know their dirty tricks--hang 'em! What d'you want, eh?"

"Well, sir, I thought I might get something in one of the dockyards, "answered Dad, frankly. "I heard last night of there being anappointment vacant at Devonport, and I was going to apply for it. "

"Any interest, eh?"

"Not a scrap, Admiral, " replied my father. "All my friends are dead orout of favour with the powers that be, I'm afraid now. "

"Then you might as well apply for a piece of the moon, " said the Admiralin his curt, dogmatic way; "and if that's all, Vernon, that is takingyou to Whitehall, you had far better save your shoe leather and comeback with me to the club. "

"Thank you very much, Admiral, but I must really say `no' again, "rejoined Dad, touched by his kindly pertinacity. "I confess, sir, though, that the object of my journey to the Admiralty is not altogetheron my own account personally, for I wished to introduce this youngsterof mine here to the Secretary, and thought it a good thing to kill thetwo birds with one stone. "

"Humph!" growled the old Admiral. "D'you think he never saw a boybefore, eh, Vernon? I'm sure there's a lump too many of the youngrascals knocking about already!"

Dad smiled at the quizzical look and sly wink with which this inquirywas accompanied, the Admiral twisting his head on one side as he spokeand looking just like a crested cockatoo!

"No, Sir Charles, not exactly, " he replied, putting his arm round myneck caressingly. "However, for all that, even so great a man as MrSecretary might not know as good a boy as my son, Jack, here!"

I tell you what, I did feel proud when Dad said that, though I could nothelp flushing up like a girl, and had to hold down my head to hide it. 

"Yes, yes, quite right, Vernon, quite right, the sentiment does youhonour, and him. I'm sure, though, I meant no offence to the littlechap, " said the rough, old sea-dog hastily, afraid of having hurt ourfeelings. "But, all the same, I don't see what you want to show him tothat Jack-in-office for? By George, the sight of his ugly phiz can't doany good to the youngster!"

"No, sir, possibly not, though I'm told he isn't such a bad-lookingfellow, " answered Dad, laughing again at the Admiral's determination toget to the bottom of the matter. "The truth, sir, is I want to get thisyoungster nominated for a naval cadetship before he oversteps the agelimit. The boy is dying to follow in my footsteps; but, though I havetried to dissuade him from it as much as I can, and the idea of hisgoing to sea makes his poor mother shudder, still, seeing that he seemsbent upon it, neither she nor I wish to thwart his inclination. "

"Whee-ugh!" whistled the other through his teeth as he proceeded to takethree or four enormous pinches of snuff in rapid succession from hiswaistcoat pocket and losing half of each pinch ere it reached his nose, the Admiral generously scattering it over the lapels of his coat andshirt front on the way. "Why the deuce didn't you tell me all thatbefore, my dear Vernon, instead of backing and filling like a Dutchgalliot beating to win'ard?"

"I--I--" hesitated my father, who had refrained from telling him beforebecause he hated asking a favour of anyone whom he regarded in the lightof a friend. "I--I--didn't like to trouble you, sir. "

"Bosh, Vernon! You know well enough it's never a trouble to me to doanything for an old shipmate, " said the old fellow, heartily, and, putting his hand on my shoulder, he wheeled me round so as to look me inthe face as I lifted up my head and gazed at him admiringly on hisaddressing me directly, "so, my young shaver, you want to be a sailor, eh?"

"Yes, sir, " I replied, "I love the sea, and I wouldn't be anything elsefor the world!"

"Ha, humph!" growled the veteran, who, I believe, was as fond of hisprofession at heart, in spite of his grumbles, as anyone who ever wentafloat. "You'd better be a tinker or a tailor, my boy, than go to sea!It's a bad trade nowadays! What put it into your head, eh?"

"It comes naturally to him, " said Dad, seeing me puzzled how to answerthe question. "I suppose it must run in the blood, sir. "

"Humph, like my gout!" jerked out Sir Charles, sharply, as if he justthen felt a twinge of his old complaint, and, turning to me again, heasked as abruptly, "D'ye think you can pass for cadet, youngster--knowyour three R's--readin', 'ritin' and 'rithmetic, eh?"

"Yes, sir, I think so, " said I grinning, having heard this old jokebefore from Dad many a time, "I shall try my best, sir. I can't saymore than that, sir, can I?"

"No, by George, no, youngster, that answer shows me, my boy, that youare your father's son!" cried the Admiral heartily, clapping me on theback as if I were a man, and making me sneeze with the loose snuff whichhe shook off from his coat as he did so. "I said you were a chip of theold block the moment I first clapped eyes on you, and now I'm certain ofit! Vernon, you shall have a nomination for the youngster. I thinkI've got sufficient interest at the Admiralty left to promise you that, at all events!"

"Oh, thank you, Admiral, " replied Dad, while I looked my gratitude, notbeing able to speak, "thank you for your great kindness to me and theboy. "

"Pooh, pooh, stuff and nonsense, my lad! It's little enough to do foran old shipmate and brother officer, " muttered the good-hearted oldfellow, quite overcome with confusion at our thanks, as Dad wrung one ofhis hands and I caught hold of the other. "I've got an appointment tomeet the First Lord this very afternoon, as luck would have it, so I'llmention the matter to him, and I've no doubt the youngster'll get hisnomination in a day or two, at the outside. By-the-bye where are youstopping in London? You haven't told me that yet. "

My father, thereupon, gave him our address. 

"All right, Vernon, " said the veteran, shoving Dad's card along with thesnuff in his waistcoat pocket, "I'll see to the matter without fail. Good-bye, now, Vernon, good-bye, young shaver, I hope you'll make asgood a sailor and smart an officer as your father before you!"

With these parting words and a kindly nod to me the old Admiral toddledoff across Waterloo Place to the Senior United Service Club opposite, towhich, I presume, he intended transferring his patronage now that theReform had given him the cold shoulder, while Dad and I returned to ourtemporary lodgings in Piccadilly to tell mother of our unexpectedmeeting and its happy result. I may here add that I was never fortunateenough to see the gallant old veteran again, though I heard of him oftenafterwards from my father, who told me he always asked how I was gettingon. Circumstances prevented my meeting him when I was yet in England, and I was out in China when he died, some four years subsequently to mymaking his acquaintance in Pall Mall that morning. 

Strange to say, however, the other day, when engaged planning out thisvery yarn of my adventures afloat, I chanced to see an advertisement inone of the Portsmouth papers of an auction about to be held atMerchiston Hall, near Horndean, where I was informed the Admiral hadresided for many years, and where he spent most of his time farming whennot at sea, before he got mixed up in politics and Parliamentarymatters, as he was in his later days after he was "put on the shelf, "and hauled down his flag for ay!

Here, the very bed was pointed out to me in which the gallant old sailordied; a plain, old-fashioned piece of furniture, without any gilding ormeretricious adornment, and honest and substantial like himself. 

The house, too, was similarly unpretentious, being a low, one-storied, verandah--fronted structure, with plenty of room about it, but little"style" or ornament. It was, though, picturesquely situated in thecentre of a well-timbered little park and homestead and snugly shelteredby tall fir trees and a thick shrubbery from all north'ard and easterlywinds, amid the prettiest scenery of Hampshire--wooded heights andpleasant dales, with coppice and hedgerow, and here and there ared-roofed old farmhouse peeping out from the greenery forming itsimmediate surroundings. 

"Poor old Charley Napier!" as he was affectionately entitled by thosewho served under his flag--officers and men alike, the latter especiallyalmost idolising him for he was ever a good friend to them. 

He now sleeps his last sleep in the churchyard of Catherington, where helies safe at anchor, hard by the dwelling where he lived when in theflesh. 

Here his tomb may be seen by the curious under the shelter of the earlyNorman church, dedicated to Saint Catherine, from which circumstance thevillage takes its name. 

It is a fine old building, this church, dating back to the time of theCrusades, when heroes as gallant as Admiral Sir Charles Napier besiegedSidon and captured Acre--like as he himself did some eight centurieslater, long prior to his unsuccessful mission to the Baltic, thesomewhat inglorious termination of which, unfortunately, clouded hisnaval reputation and ended his career afloat!

CHAPTER THREE. 

I GET NOMINATED FOR A NAVAL CADETSHIP. 

"`Sharp's the word and quick the motion, ' eh, Jack?" said my father, using his favourite phrase, when the post next morning brought him aletter from the Admiralty in an oblong blue envelope, inscribed "On HerMajesty's Service, " in big letters, stating that I had been nominated toa cadetship in the Royal Navy. "I knew old Charley would be as good ashis word!"

"Hurrah!" I shouted, throwing my cap in the air, and forgetting allabout a long-promised visit to the Zoological Gardens for which we werejust starting, "Now I shall be able to go to sea at last!"

Dad seemed to share my enthusiasm; but my mother, I recollect well, ay, as if it had occurred but yesterday, put her arms round me and cried asif her heart would break. 

Presently, when she had somewhat regained her composure, Dad, comfortingher with the assurance that she was not going to lose me all at once, itnot being probable that I would be drowned or slain or otherwiseimmolated on the altar of my country immediately on entering the navy, which appeared to be her first conviction, we all began talking thematter over; and then Dad proceeded to read over again the officialcommunication he had received, commenting on the same as he went overit. 

"Hullo, Jack!" he observed, on reaching the end of the formal document, "those red-tape chaps a' Whitehall haven't given you much time toprepare for your examination!"

The mention of this damped my ardour a bit, I can tell you!

"Oh, I quite forgot that!" I exclaimed lugubriously. "When have I gotto go up for exam. , Dad?"

"The `first Wednesday in August, ' my boy--so says this letter at allevents. "

"Good gracious me!" ejaculated my mother, again breaking into ourconversation after a brief pause, during which she must have gonethrough an abstract mental calculation. "Why, that will be barely amonth from now, my dear!"

"Precisely, this being the third of July, " replied Dad drily. "SoMaster Jack will have to stir his stumps if he hopes to pass, for I'mafraid he's rather shaky in his Euclid. "

"Dear, dear!" said mother, throwing up her arms in consternation, "he isvery backward in his history, too! Would you believe it, he couldn'trecollect when Magna Charta was signed on my asking him the dateyesterday. "

"Really?" cried Dad, leaning back in his chair, and bursting into ahearty laugh at my mother's serious face, "I'm sure, my dear, I couldnot tell you the date off-hand myself at the present moment, not if Iwere even going to be hanged in default! Jack knows, though, I'd wager, when the glorious battle of Trafalgar was fought; and that concerns aBritish sailor boy more, I think, than any other event in the wholehistory of our plucky little island, save perhaps the defeat of thegrand Armada. What say you, my boy?"

"Of course, I know the date of the battle of Trafalgar, Dad, " I answeredglibly enough, having heard it mentioned too often to have forgotten itin a hurry; and, besides, I knew Southey's _Life of Nelson_ almost byheart, it being one of my favourite books and ranking in my estimationnext to _Robinson Crusoe_. "It was fought, Dad, on the 21st October1805. "

"There, mother, just hear that!" cried Dad, chaffingly. "Are you notproud of your boy in blue? By Jove, he'll set the Thames on fire if hegoes on at that rate!"

"I _am_ proud of him; but I do not wish him to fail, " replied mother, who took things generally _au serieux_; and, turning to me, she said inher earnest way, --"Dear Jack, I'm afraid you are too confident and donot attend to your lessons now as you used to do. Pray, work hard, mydear boy, for my sake!"

"I will, mother dear, I promise you that, " said I, kissing her. "Iwon't get plucked if I can help it. "

"That's right, my brave boy, you cannot say more than that, " chimed inDad, with a pat of approval on my head, as my mother drew me towards herin mute caress. "By the way, I tell you what I'll do, Jack. I wasasking my old friend Captain Gifford the other day about a good navaltutor for you, and you shall have the assistance of the same `crammer'he had for his boys if I can get hold of him. "

Prior to the year 1858, I may here explain, on a youngster beingnominated to a naval cadetship he was appointed to a sea-going ship atonce, going afloat there and then without any preliminary examinationand the roundabout routine subsequently enjoined, wisely or not, by "MyLords" when the "competition wallah" system came in vogue. UnwittinglyI was, thus, one of the first to suffer from the change, the order forcadets having to pass in certain specified subjects on board the_Excellent_ before receiving their appointments having been issuedwithin a comparatively recent period of my getting my nomination. 

This proviso, too, I may add, was saddled with the condition that allcadets in future would have to go through a probationary period of threemonths' instruction in seamanship in a training-ship, which was setapart for the purpose ere they were supposed to have officially joined"the service, " and become liable to be sent to sea. 

These regulations, to make an end of my explanations, continue in forceto the present day with very little alteration, the only difference, sofar as I can learn, being that youngsters now have to pass a slightly"stiffer" examination than I did on entry, and that they have to remainfor two years on probation aboard the _Britannia_ instead of the threemonths period which was esteemed sufficient for the "sucking Nelsons" ofmy time in the old _Illustrious_. She was the predecessor of the moremodern training-ship for naval cadets, which turns them out now _au finde siecle_, all ready-made, full-blown officers, so to speak; though itis questionable whether they are any the better sailors than Nelsonhimself, Collingwood amongst the older sea captains, or Hornby and Tryonof a later day. None of these went through a like course of study, andyet they knew how to handle ships and manoeuvre fleets without any such"great advantages" of training!

My moral reflections, though, have little to do with my story, to whichI will now return. 

The date of the examination being so perilously near, and my studieshaving become somewhat neglected during the long holiday I had spent insightseeing in London, my father thought the surer way to secure mypassing would be, as he had said, to procure the aid of a good tutor whomight peradventure succeed in tuning me up to concert pitch in the shortinterval allowed me by the patent process of "cramming, " which had comeinto fashion with the competition craze, more speedily than by anyordinary mode of imparting instruction. 

So, in accordance with his promise, Dad called on his friend CaptainGifford the same afternoon in quest of the experienced "coach" orcoachman, whom that gentleman had previously recommended, warranted topossess the ability to drive knowledge into my head at a sufficient rateto ensure my "weathering, " the examiners when I went before them; and, ere the close of this memorable week in which I was introduced toAdmiral Sir Charles Napier and got my nomination, I was in as high astate of "cram" as any Strasbourg goose destined to contribute his quotato a _pate_ of fat livers. 

"Dear, dear, my poor boy!" as mother said to me, "what a lot you have tolearn, to be sure!"

My mother was right you will say when you hear all. I was "a poor boy, "indeed, and no mistake. 

Latin, French, Arithmetic and Algebra, not forgetting my old enemyEuclid and his compromising propositions, with a synopsis of EnglishHistory, and the physical and political geography of the globe, besidesa lot of lesser "ologies, " of no interest to anyone save my coach andmyself, but all of which were included in the list of subjects laid downby the Admiralty as incumbent for every would-be naval cadet to acquire, were forced into my unfortunate cranium day and night without theslightest cessation. 

The only let off I had were a few hours allowed me for sleep andrefreshment, my hard task-master, the aforesaid coach, an old Cambridgewrangler, never giving me a moment's respite, insisting, on thecontrary, that he would give _me_ up instead altogether if I oncestopped work!

For the time being I lived in a world of facts and figures, breathingnothing but dates and exuding mathematical and other data at almostevery pore; so that, by the end of the month I felt myself transformedinto a sort of portable human cyclopaedia, containing a heterogeneousmass of information of all kinds, as superficial as it was varied. 

The knowledge I acquired in this way, however, was only skin deep, so toto speak, exemplifying the truth of the old adage "lightly come, lightlygo;" for albeit this hot-bed process of imparting learning served itsturn in enabling me to pass the crucial ordeal to which I was subjected, I verily believe that I could not have answered satisfactorily one titheof the questions a fortnight after the dreaded examination was over thatI then grappled successfully. 

But this is anticipating matters. 

Hot July sweltered to its close ere my tutor was satisfied with theprogress I had made under his care and declared me fit for the fray. 

This was on the very last day of the month, and on the followingTuesday, the 3rd of August, I remember, for it was the very day beforethe fateful Wednesday fixed for examination on board the _Excellent_, mymother, in company with Dad and myself, bade adieu to the sultrymetropolis, of whose stagnant air and blistering pavements, andred-baked bricks and mortar we were all three heartily tired, journeyingdown to Portsmouth by some out-of-the-way route, all round the southcoast, past Brighton and Worthing and Shoreham, which I never afterwardsessayed. 

Since then, though I have travelled, more often than I care to countnow, from London to the famous old seaport which is veritably thenursery of our navy, and whence the immortal Nelson sailed, ninety oddyears ago, to thrash the combined French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgarand establish England's supremacy afloat while ridding the world of thetyranny of Napoleon Buonaparte, not a single incident connected with myfirst trip thither has escaped my memory. 

Yes, I recollect every detail of the journey, from the time of ourleaving Waterloo station to our arrival at the terminus at Landport, just without the old fortifications that shut in Portsea and thedockyard, with all its belongings, within a rampart of greenery. Thenoble elms on the summit of the glacis, are now, alas! all cut down anddemolished, but they once afforded a shady walk for miles, making thedirty moats and squalid houses in their rear, which are now alsonumbered, more happily, amongst the things of the past, look positivelypicturesque. 

I could not forget anything that happened that day; for, then it wasthat I saw that dear old sea again which I had loved from the time mybaby eyes first gazed on it, and which I had not now seen for months. 

On reaching "ye ancient and loyale toune, " as Portsmouth was quaintlydesignated by Queen Bess of virginal memory on the occasion of hervisiting the place, our little party, I can well call to mind, put up atthe "Keppel's Head" on the Hard. 

This was a hostelry which Dad had been accustomed to patronise when atthe naval college in the dockyard learning all about the new principleof steam just then introduced into the service before I was "thoughtof, " as he said, and, no doubt, the place is as well known to youngfellows and old "under the pennant" in these prosaic days of "floatingflat-irons and gimcrack fighting machines, " as the "Fountain Inn" inHigh Street and the "Blue Posts" at Point were to Peter Simple and MrMidshipman Easy in the early part of the century, when, to quote dearold Dad again, "a ship was a ship, and sailors were seamen and not allstokers and engineers!"

There was no harbour station then, as now, fronting and affrontingHardway; no trace of the hideous railway viaduct shutting out all theforeshore, both of which at present exist in all their respective nativeuglinesses!

No; for the upper windows of the old hotel commanded a splendid view ofthe whole of the harbour and the roadstead of Spithead beyond, and Iseem to see myself a boy again that August afternoon, looking out overthe picturesque scene in glad surprise. 

After our early dinner, Dad pointed out to me the various objects ofinterest; the old _Victory_, flagship then as she is now again after aninterval of thirty years or more, during which time she was supplantedby the _Duke of Wellington_, which she has in time supplanted once more;the _Illustrious_, the training-ship for naval cadets, near the mouth ofthe harbour, where the _Saint Vincent_ is now moored; and the long lineof battered old hulks stretching away in the distance up the stream toFareham Creek, the last examples extant of those "wooden walls of oldEngland" which Dibdin sang and British sailors manned and fought for anddefended to the death, sacrificing their lives for "the honour of theflag!"

Yes, I remember the name of every ship that Dad then pointed out to me. I can picture, too, the whole scene, with the tide at the flood and thesunshine shimmering on the water and the old _Victory_ belching out asalute in sharp, rasping reports from the guns of her main deck battery, that darted out their fiery tongues, each in the midst of a round puffball of smoke in quick succession, first on the port and then on thestarboard side, until the proper number of rounds had been fired and aproportionate expenditure of powder effected to satisfy the requirementsof naval etiquette for the occasion, when the saluting ceased, assuddenly as it began. 

The afternoon wore on apace after this, the sun sinking in the west overGosport, beyond Priddy's Hard, amid a wealth of crimson and gold thatnearly stretched up to the zenith, lighting up the spars of the shipsand making their hulls glow again with a ruddy radiance while touchingup the brass-work and metal about them with sparks of flame. 

Still, I did not tire of standing there at the window of the old"Keppel's Head, " looking out on the harbour in front, with the wherriesplying to and fro and men-of-war's boats going off at intervals withbelated officers to their respective ships. 

Until, by-and-by the Warner lightship, afar out at sea beyond Spithead, and the Nab light beyond her again, could be seen twinkling in thedistance, while the moon presently rose in the eastern sky right overFort Cumberland; and then, all at once, there was a sudden flash, which, coming right in front of me, dazzled my eyes like lightning. 

This was followed by a single but very startling "Bang!" that thunderedout from the flagship, which, swinging round with the outgoing ebb tide, was now lying almost athwart stream, with her high, square stern galleryoverhanging the sloping shore below the hotel, looking as if the oldcraft had taken the ground and fired the gun that had startled us as asignal of distress--so, at least, with the vivid imagination of boyhood, thought I!

"Goodness gracious me!" exclaimed my mother, almost jumping out of herchair at the unexpected report and making me jump, too, by her hurriedmovement towards the window where I stood, "what is the matter, Jack?"

"Nothing to be alarmed about, my dear, " said Dad soothingly to her. "Itis only the admiral tumbled down the hatchway. "

"Dear, dear, " replied poor mother in a voice full of the deepestsympathy, "I hope the old gentleman has not hurt himself much. He musthave fallen rather heavily!"

Dad roared with laughter at her innocent mistake. 

"You'll kill me some day, I think, my dear, " said he when he was able tospeak, after having his laugh out. "I only used an old nauticalexpression which you must have heard before, I'm sure. We always saythat on board ship when the nine-o'clock gun is fired!"

"Oh!" rejoined mother, a little bit crossly at being made fun of. "I dowish, Frank, you would explain what you mean next time beforehand, instead of puzzling people with your old sailor talk, which nobody canunderstand!"

"Humph!" said Dad; but, presently, I saw mother put out her hand andtenderly touch him on the shoulder, as if to tell him that her temporarytiff had been dispelled, like the smoke from the discharge of the_Victory's_ last gun, whereat I could hear him whisper under his breathas he kissed her cheek softly, "All's well that ends well, my dear!"

CHAPTER FOUR. 

DOWN AT PORTSMOUTH. 

Next morning, ere I seemed to have been asleep five minutes, it cameupon my dreams so suddenly, I was awakened by a terrible din of drummingand bugling from the adjacent barracks close to the line offortifications which at that time enclosed Portsmouth--but whose moatsand ramparts were pulled to pieces, as I have already said, some fewyears ago to make room for the officers' and men's recreation groundsand gymnasium, with other modern improvements. 

Then, I could hear the heavy tramp of men marching, followed by thehoarse sound of words of command in the distance, "Halt! Front!Dress!"

I assure you, I really thought for the moment that the long-talked-ofFrench invasion, about which I had been recently reading in myhistorical researches, had actually come at last and that the garrisonhad been hurriedly called to arms to resist some unexpected attack onthe town. 

This reminiscence of my cramming experiences, mixed up in hotch-potchfashion with the martial echoes that caught my ear from the banging drumand brazen bugle, at once recalled the gruesome fact that this was theeventful day fixed for my examination on board the _Excellent_; so, dreading lest I should be late, I incontinently jumped out of bed in ajiffy, proceeding; albeit unconsciously, to obey the last gruff order ofthe sergeant of the guard, relieving the sentries. 

This, as Dad subsequently explained, was the reason for all thecommotion, the sergeant parading his men as he came up to each "post" inturn, with the usual stereotyped formula, "Halt! Front! Dress!"

Dear me! I did "dress;" though in rather a different sense to thatimplied by the sergeant's mandate, huddling on my clothes in my haste socarelessly that I broke the button off my shirt collar and put on myjacket the wrong way!

All my hurry, too, was to very little purpose; for, when I reached thecoffee-room of the hotel below, after getting confused and losing myproper course amongst the many intricate passages and curving corkscrewstaircases that led downwards from the little dormitory I had occupiedright under the tiles at the back of the building, I found that neitherDad nor mother had yet put in an appearance for breakfast. 

I was in such good time, indeed, that old Saint Thomas's clock in HighStreet was only just chiming Eight; while the ships' bells over thewater were repeating the same piece of information in various tones andthe shrill steam whistle from the dockyard workshops hard by screechingits confirmation of the story. 

There was no fear of my being late, therefore; so, consoling myself withthis satisfactory reflection, I was making my way to the nearest windowof the coffee-room to look out on the harbour beyond as I had done theevening before when, like as then, a big bouncing "Bang!" came from the_Victory_, making me jump back and feel almost as nervous as poor motherwas on the previous occasion. 

"Yezsir, court-martial gun, sir, aboard the flagship, sir, " said thewiry little cock-eyed head waiter, who was hopping about the room "likea parched pea on a griddle, " as dad expressed it, stopping to flick thedust from the mantelpiece with his napkin as he replied to the muteinquiry he could read in my glance. "Look, sir! They've h'isted theJack at the peak, sir, yezsir. "

"Oh, yes, I see, " said I, as if I had not observed this before and wasperfectly familiar with the signal. "I did not notice it at first. "

"No, sir? W'y, in course not, sir, or else ye'd ha' known wot it were, "answered the sly old fellow, ascribing to me a knowledge of navalmatters which he knew as well as myself I did not possess, thuspandering, with the ulterior view, no doubt, of a substantial tip, to acommon weakness of human nature to which most of us, man and boy alike, are prone--that of wishing to appear wiser than we really are!

"But, as I was a-saying only last night to Jim Marksby, the hall-porter, sir, " he continued, "court-martials, sir, isn't wot they used to was. Lord-sakes! sir, I remembers, as if it were yesterday, in old Sir TitusFitzblazes's time, sir, when they was as plentiful as the blackberrieson Browndown!

"W'y, sir, b'lieve me or not if yer likes, but there wasn't a mornin'--barring Sundays in course--as yer wouldn't hear that theer blessed guna-firin' for a court-martial, sir, j'est the same as ye heerd j'est now, sir, yezsir! Ah, them was fine times, they was, for the watermen onHardway; for they usest to make a rare harvest a-taking off witnessesand prisoners' `friends, ' as they calls 'em, and lawyers and noospaperchaps to the flagship, they did. The old chaps called the signal gun`old Fitzblazes's Eight o'clock Gun, ' sir. They did so, sir, yezsir!"

"Indeed, waiter?" said I, feeling quite proud of his thus speaking to meas if I were a grown-up person. "But who was this gentleman, old Fitz--what did you call him?"

"Old Sir Titus Fitzblazes, sir, " glibly replied the coffee-roomfactotum, flicking off a fly as he spoke from the table-cloth whereon hehad just arranged all the paraphernalia of our breakfast. "Lord-sakes, sir, yer doesn't mean for to say, sir, as a well-growed young gen'lemanlike yerself, sir, as is a naval gent, sir, as I can see with arf aneye, haven't heard tell o' he? Well, sir, he were port admiral here, sir, a matter of eight or ten year ago, sir, yezsir; and, wot's more, sir, he were the tautest old sea porkypine ye'd fetch across `in a bluemoon, ' as sailor folk say!

"Yezsir, I've heerd when he were commodore on the West Coast, he usedfor to turn up the hands every mornin' regular and give 'em four dozenapiece for breakfast, sir!"

"Good gracious me, waiter!" I exclaimed, aghast at this statement. "Four dozen lashes?"

"Yezsir. Lor'! four dozen lashings was nothink to old Sir Titus, for hewere pertickeler partial to noggin', he were, and took it out of the menlike steam, he did!

"The ossifers, in course, he couldn't sarve out in the same way, notbeing allowed for to do so by the laws of the service, sir; but he'dcourt-martial 'em, sir, as many on 'em as would give him arf a chance, and the court-martial gun used for to fire in his time here as reg'laras clock-work every mornin' at eight, winter and summer alike, jest thesame as when the flag's h'isted at sunrise, yezsir!"

"What an old martinet he must have been!" I said in response to this. "Perhaps, though, the poor old admiral suffered from bad health, andthat made him cross and easily put out?"

"Bad health, sir? Not a bit of it!" exclaimed my friend, the waiter, repudiating such an excuse with scorn. "It were bad temper as were_his_ complaint. 

"Lord-sakes, though, sir, he were bad all over, was Sir Titus; ay, thathe were, from the crown of his head to the sole of his foot. As bad asthey makes 'em!

"W'y, he 'ad the temper, sir, of old Nick hisself, ay, that he had!

"I don't mean the Czar of Roosia, sir. Don't you run away with thatthere notion! No, sir, I means the rale old gent as ye've heerd tellon, wot hangs out down below when he's at home and allers dresses inblack to look genteel-like. Wears top-boots for to hide his clovenfeet, sir, and carries a fine tail under his arm with a fluke at the endof it, same as that on a sheet-anchor--ah, yer knows the gent I means, sir!

"Well, yezsir, old Sir Titus wer him all over and must ha' been histwin-brother; barring the tail, the admiral being shaky about the feet, too, and his boots a'most as big as the dinghy of that sloop. They woslike as two peas, sir, old Nick and he!

"Lord-sakes, though, yer must have heerd tell of him, sir, a young andgallant naval ossifer like yerself, 'specially that yarn consarnin' himand the washerwoman as was going into the dockyard one mornin' when hewere a-spyin' round the gates?"

"No, waiter, I never heard the old gentleman's name before you told itme, " I replied, curious to learn some further disclosures concerning socelebrated a character. "What was this story?"

"W'y, sir, it's enuff a'most for to make a cat laugh, sir, " he said witha snigger, which he immediately flicked away, as it were, with hisnapkin, resuming his whilom solemn demeanour. "It happen'd, if yer mustknow, sir, in this way, sir, yezsir. 

"Old Blazes--that wer the name he allers went by in the yard--wasa-hangin' round the main gate a-lookin' out for to see who comes along, w'en all of a sudding he spies this good woman as was a-takin' in theclothes from the wash for Admiralty House. 

"That were where, yer knows, sir, he himself lived with Lady Fitz, closeby the College and jest to the right as yer goes in the yard?

"Lord-sakes, sir! The old admiral thinks he'd made a fine haul and thatthe woman were a-smuggling in sperrits or somethin' `contraband, ' asthey calls it, for the sailors who is allers stationed round thecommander-in-chief's office; and so, he orders her for to turn out herbig baskets there in the gateway afore all the grinning policemen andmen who was jest a-comin' into the yard. 

"Ye never see such a show, sir in all yer born days; and the beauty onit were that as he was in the middle of it sir, overhaulin' all thethings from the wash, and a-pokin' 'em about with his gold-headed stickand turnin' over the ladies' fal-de-rals and all sorts of women's gearthat they don't like men for to see, sir, up comes Lady Fitzblazesherself, a-going out for a walk. 

"Seein' what he were after, she axes him wot he means by treating herclothes like that there. 

"Lord-sakes, sir, if he were old Nick, she had a temper, too, and wereas fiery as a she-tiger cat, she were; and, wot between the two, therewas then--Breakfast, sir? Yezsir, comin', sir!"

The wiry little cock-eyed waiter rushed off, with his napkin over hisshoulder, as he uttered the last words; and, wondering what had causedhim to break off so unexpectedly in the middle of his yarn, apparentlyjust when he was approaching the most interesting part of it, I turnedmy head and saw mother and Dad were within the coffee-room, havingentered the doorway just behind me. 

"Hullo, Jack!" said my father, "what was that waiter chap yarning about?You seemed very much taken up with what he was saying. "

I thereupon told him as much as I had heard of the old port admiral. 

"Pooh, nonsense, the rascal has only been `pulling your leg' with acock-and-a-bull story, Jack, " said dad in a contemptuous tone when I hadfinished--for he was an officer of the old school and always believed inthe obligations of discipline, invariably "sticking up" for thosesuperior to him in rank in the service--"I knew old Admiral Fitzblazesmyself very well, and a better officer and gentleman never wore theQueen's uniform!"

While he was speaking to this effect, the "cock-eyed rascal, " as Dadcalled him, came in with our breakfast, giving me a sly wink with hissound eye behind Dad's back as he passed him; so, sitting down, wehurried through the meal without any further conversation, I feelingmore and more nervous the nearer the hour fixed for the examinationapproached, and mother and Dad both keeping silent, in sympathy with me. 

Breakfast accomplished, Dad accompanied me to the dockyard, and saw meoff to the _Excellent_; where, on getting on board, with my certificateof birth and moral character in my pocket and my heart in my mouth, Iwas ushered into the wardroom, with some twenty other aspirants fornaval honours like myself. 

All of us, of course, were mostly of the same age, but, naturally, ofvarious builds and size; some tall, some short; some thin, some fat;some ugly, some handsome. 

One little chap whom I noticed was much smaller than I was, although Dadhad expressly drawn Admiral Napier's attention to the fact of my beingrather short for my age. 

This youngster had a bright merry face and smiled in a friendly way tome; but the others looked at me generally as a collection of strangedogs appear to regard any new comer suddenly brought amongst them, eyeing and sniffing him suspiciously before they can make up their mindswhether to treat him as friend or foe--though, generally, preferring, asa rule, the latter footing!

On entering the wardroom, which had a sort of scholastic look mingledwith its ordinary nautical surroundings, we were summoned in turn to thefurther end of the apartment. 

Here, on a raised portion of the deck abutting on the stern gallery, three gentlemen in clerical garb were seated behind a semi-circulargreen baize table, in front of which we stood, respectively, like somany prisoners on trial, while answering various questions appertainingto our Christian and surnames, age and so on. 

We also handed in at the same time our baptismal and medical andcharacter certificates, all of which were duly inspected, docketed andfiled, in regular official style. 

These preliminaries gone through, we were then directed to take ourseats on either side of a long table that ran fore and aft the cabin, whose normal purpose was for the messing of the officers of the ship, but which on the present occasion was supplied with folios of foolscappaper and bundles of quill pens and bottles of ink, systematicallydistributed along its length, instead of the more palatable viands itmore generally and generously displayed. 

We were immediately under the eyes of the senior chaplain of the trioforming the board of examiners, a gentleman whose position at the centreof the cross table at the top of the room enabled him to command a fullview of the double line of boys and detect at once any attempt atcribbing or unfair assistance given by one to the other; and our ordealbegan punctually on the ship's bell striking Ten o'clock, dictationbeing the first subject set us "to test our spelling and handwriting, "as my Lords of the Admiralty were good enough to inform us. 

Thanks to my mother's persistency in keeping me up to the mark withregard to my lessons, long before I had recourse to the crammer, thisintroductory stage of the examination presented no difficulties to me;and I was able not only to keep pace with the gentleman who dictated aportion of one of Macaulay's Essays to us, but also found time to lookround me occasionally to see how my companions fared with the big words, the faces of some of them presenting quite a study when a portentouspolysyllable was given them to spell. 

The little chap with the curly hair who had smiled at me on coming in, Iobserved, did not smile now. 

His whilom merry countenance, on the contrary, was all puckered up inthe most comical way; while his brows were knit as he chewed the featherend of his quill pen trying to get inspiration from that source how toproperly write some long word--I think it was "Mesopotamia!"

Poor little fellow! he had a fearful struggle over it; but, although Ishould have dearly liked to have helped him, it was against the rules, so I could only watch his growing despair with a mute sympathy that wasmingled with amusement at the funny faces he made over the, to him, serious business. 

A little later on, however, if this victim of the stiff dictation paperhad looked at me when ruthless old Euclid, my former antagonist, came onthe scene, he would in like fashion have pitied me; for I was quitefogged by an easy proposition that I had thought I knew by heart thenight before, but now found I had not the slightest glimmering of, although I answered most of the other questions. 

Thus the examination proceeded, until the hour came for us to hand inour papers; the lot of us then filing before the presiding genii seatedbehind the green baize table at the end of the wardroom, and each givingup his roll of spoilt foolscap in turn as he came up abreast of thereverend trio. 

I was nearly the last of the file; and, as I approached the table, thechaplain occupying the middle seat looked up. 

He had a jolly, round, benevolent sort of face, which wore at the momentsuch a good-humoured expression that, I suppose, it became reflected onmine causing me to smile. 

"Hullo, my boy!" said he, smiling, too. "You seem in a very happy frameof mind, I'm sure. Answered all your questions right, eh?"

"I'm afraid not all, sir, " I replied diffidently; "but I hope for thebest. "

"That's right, youngster! There's no good to be got by despairing overthings, and remember, you can have another try, you know, if you failnow, " said he encouragingly. "`Never say die, ' you know, as an oldfriend of mine used always to say, `care once killed a cat!'"

"Why, sir, " I exclaimed at this, "that's what my father always tells me. It's his favourite expression when any difficulty arises. He nevergives in, sir!"

"Indeed!" said the fat gentleman, while the others on either side of himlooked interested. "Who is your father, my boy, if you'll excuse myasking you the question?"

"Francis Vernon, " I answered promptly. "A captain in the Royal Navy, now on half-pay, sir. "

The fat clergyman laughed at my laconic reply. 

"Vernon, ha!" he repeated after me. "I wonder if he is the Frank VernonI once knew?"

"Can't say, sir, " said I, cautiously. "My mother, though, always callshim `Frank. '"

My new friend laughed again. 

"Ah, I'm sure he is the same, if only from your manner, which is justlike what I remember in the Frank Vernon who was in the _Pelican_ withme, " said he, looking at me all over with his twinkling round eyes. "Was your father ever up the Mediterranean with old Charley Napier, myboy?"

"Oh yes, sir, " I replied, glib enough now. "It was Admiral Napier whogave me my nomination the other day, sir. "

"Really, you don't say so?"

"I do, though, sir, " I said sturdily, thinking he doubted my assertion. "Dad and I met him in Pall Mall, and I got my nomination from theAdmiralty, sir, the very next morning as he promised!"

"All right, my boy, all right, " he observed in an absent way, turning towhisper to the two other gentlemen something, I think, about "oldCharley, " and "must be passed for my old shipmate's sake. "--"I quitebelieve what you say: I do not doubt your word for an instant; for FrankVernon's son, I am sure, could not but always speak the truth. Did yourfather come down with you for your examination?"

"Yes, sir, " I answered. "He and my mother came with me; and we're allstaying at the old `Keppel's Head Hotel, ' on Hardway, sir. "

"Humph! I think I know the place you mention, youngster, " said he, witha significant twinkle in his eye which made the other two chaplainsgrin, I could see, at some joke they had between them. "I'll try andcall on your father, if I can find time before he leaves Portsmouth. Tell him when you get back, that old Tangent asked after him, please. "

"I'll make a point of doing so, sir, " I replied, with a bow, repeatingthe name after him to make certain. "I will tell him, sir, about OldTangent. "

"Old Tangent, indeed!" cried the old fellow, shaking his fat sides, while the other two examiners roared outright. "You've a pretty goodstock of impudence of your own, I'm sure! Be off with you, you youngrascal, or I'll pluck you as certain as I'm that Old Tangent with whomyou dare to be so familiar!"

His jovial face, however, belied the threat, so it did not occasion meany alarm; and, bowing again politely to the three clerical gentlemencollectively, I bent my steps, on the grin all the way, to the door ofthe wardroom, which was opened and shut behind me by a marine standingwithout. 

I was Last of the Mohicans, all the other fellows having taken theirdeparture and gone ashore long before I got my own happy dismissal. 

"By Jove, Jack, I think you may put yourself down as passed!" said myfather when I subsequently detailed the incidents of my examination, drawing a good augury from my description of what had occurred on boardthe gunnery ship. "He was always a knowing hand was Old Tangent; andsuch a remark from him to his brother examiners, would be as efficaciousas a whisper in ear of the First Lord's Secretary on your behalf, myboy!"

"Do you remember him, Frank? I mean the gentleman who spoke to Jack. "

"Oh, yes, my dear, " replied Dad to this question of my mother's, "Irecollect Old Tangent quite well. He was always a good-natured fellowand a capital shipmate. Why, he sang the best song of any of us in themess on board the old _Pelican_!"

"What!" exclaimed my mother, holding up her hands in pious horror at themention of such an unclerical characteristic. "A clergyman sing songs?"

"Yes, why not?" retorted Dad, who was in his jolliest mood at theprospect of my having passed my examination successfully. "They werespiritual songs of course, my dear, I assure you!"

"No doubt, " said mother, drily. "I think, my dear, you can `tell thatyarn to the marines, ' as you say in your favourite sea slang. _I_ knowwhat sort of spirits you refer to!"

At which observation they both laughed; and, naturally, I laughed too. 

CHAPTER FIVE. 

IN WHICH I REALLY "JOIN THE SERVICE. "

"Letter for yer, sir, yezsir, " said my friend the cock-eyed waiter aweek or two later, while we were at luncheon, bringing in a long, official-looking document on a salver, which he proceeded to hand mewith a smirk and a squint from his cock-eye, that seemed to roam allover the apartment, taking in everything and everyone present in onecomprehensive glance. "It's jest come in, sir. It were brought by amessenger, sir, from the commander-in-chief's h'office, sir; and Ithinks as 'ow it's a horder for yer sir, for to jine yer ship, sir, yezsir!"

"All right my man, that'll do, " interposed my father, who from hisservice-training had a rooted objection to anything approaching tofamiliarity from servants and other subordinates, besides which heparticularly disliked the waiter's "vulgar curiosity" as he styled it, saying he was always prying and poking his nose into other people'saffairs; although, I honestly believe my worthy old cock-eyed friendonly took a laudable interest in my welfare, as indeed he did in thebusiness of everybody who patronised the hotel. "You can leave theletter, waiter, and likewise the room!"

"For me?" said I, taking up the missive, which was inscribed on theoutside in large printed characters "On Her Majesty's Service, "similarly to the one which had brought my nomination from the Admiralty. "I wonder Dad, what it contains! I suppose, it will tell whether Ihave passed my examination or not?"

"Open it, Jack, " said Dad, as soon as the waiter had left the room, flicking his napkin viciously over the sideboard which he passed on hisway to the door as if he was considerably huffed at not being admittedto our confidence. "Let us hear the news at once, good or bad. Suspense, you know, my boy, is worse than hanging. "

"No, I can't, Dad, I feel too nervous, " I replied, not laughing at hisjoke, as I might have done another time, although the pun was a regularold stager, passing the yet unopened letter across the table. "You readit, mother, please. "

"You need not be alarmed Jack, " said she, smiling, and pointing to thesuperscription. "See, the direction on it is to `John Vernon, Esquire, R. N. '"

"Which means, Master Jack, that you have passed!" cried Dad, anticipating her explanation, and jumping up at once from his seat ingreat excitement, the contagion of which the next instant spread to me. "You've passed, my boy, there's no doubt about that from this address;and, now, you really belong to Her Majesty's service, hurrah!"

Mother, though, did not say anything, and her hands trembled as shefumbled with the letter, trying to open the envelope without tearing it. 

"My boy, my boy!" she exclaimed presently, her eyes filling with tearsas she glanced at the contents of the enclosure, which she could onlydimly see; albeit, she learnt enough to know that I had passed for cadetand was directed to join the _Illustrious_ training-ship, then stationedat Portsmouth, like as her successor the _Britannia_ was for a longwhile prior to her removal to Dartmouth. "It is as we thought, and asyou hoped, Jack. You are going to have your wish at last and leave yourfather and me for your new home on the sea. "

The cock-eyed waiter broke the rather melancholy silence that ensued. 

"Them's outfitters' cards, sir, yezsir, " he said, bringing in his salveragain presently, piled up with circulars and square pieces of pasteboardwhich he placed before Dad. "Parties" as heerd tell young gents "aspassed and wants fer to get the horder for his h'uniforms, sir, yezsir!"

Having thus eased his mind, my old friend bustled out of the room asquickly as he had entered, no doubt afraid of my father giving himanother "dressing-down. "

Dad, however, was not thinking of the waiter or his cheeky manner forthe moment. 

"By Jove, Jack!" he cried, "you're getting quite an important personage. Why, we'll have all the tradesmen of Portsea struggling for your lordlycustom if we stop here much longer! Do they say anything about theboy's outfit in that letter, my dear?"

"Oh, yes, " replied my mother, taking up the missive, which she haddropped on her knee, and going on to read it over to herself again. "There's a long list of things that he is ordered to get. "

"Then, the sooner we see about getting them the better, " said Dad, looking over the letter, too. "We'll go round to Richardson's thisafternoon if you like, my dear. I think he's the best man to rig-outJack, and, besides, I've had dealings with him before. "

"Very well, I'll go and put on my bonnet at once, " said mother, risingfrom the table as she spoke. "You must tell the man, Frank, to have thepoor boy's things ready as quickly as possible, for I must mark them allbefore he goes to sea. Ah! there'll be nobody to look after his clothesthere!"

"No, my dear, no one but his messmates in the midshipmen's berth, " saidDad, jokingly, with a wink to me, wishing to get mother out of hersorrowful mood. "_They_ will take precious good care of his wardrobefor him, I wager; that is, unless he keeps his weather eye open and asharp look-out and never leaves his sea-chest unlocked. All the markingin the world won't save his gear if he does that, I can tell you andhim!"

Mother was not to be put off her purpose, however, despite Dad's chaff. 

So, when the outfitter sent home my elaborate kit, quite complete inevery detail, within a couple of days after our visit to his shop, shecarefully marked every article with my name in full, adding somenumerical hieroglyph of her own that denoted how many of eachdescription of garment I possessed. 

Poor thing! She was firmly convinced in her innocent mind that I wouldbe able to trace, by this means, anything missing from my stock ofwearing apparel!

But, notwithstanding all her elaborate precautions, Dad proved a trueprophet; for, on my return home from my first commission, I do notbelieve I had any two of a set out of the dozens of shirts and collarsand handkerchiefs I was originally supplied with and which she had soneatly marked. 

On the contrary, the scanty contents of my battered old donkey of achest, whilom gorgeously painted in blue and gold, consisted but of ascant lot of half-worn-out items of clothing, not one of which matchedthe other, and the owners whereof, judging by the different inscribedinitials thereon were as various as their respective conditions of wear!

On the same evening my things came from the outfitter's, and even whilemy poor mother was engaged on the fruitless task she had imposed onherself of ensuring my continual possession, as she vainly thought ofthe same, I stole, away from the dinner-table and retired for a briefspace to the little bedroom I still occupied at the top of the hotel, with the way to and from which I was now better acquainted than on themorning after I first slept "under the tiles. "

"Ain't we grand!" sang out Dad, chaffingly, when I presently reappearedbelow in all the glory of my new uniform as a naval cadet. 

This was the same then as now:--blue trousers and jacket with crown andanchor buttons and a cunningly-shaped little collar, that had a whitefacing to the lapel and the buttonholes of the turn-back worked withtwisted cord of the same colour in proper regulation fashion; not tospeak of my cap with its golden badge, and the formidable-lookingcarving-knife of a dirk, twenty inches long in its black scabbard, whichI wore at my belt!

"Why, Master Jack, you'll be `topping the officer' over me now in yourwar paint, " added Dad, after turning me round twice to inspect me. "Youare rigged out smart, and no mistake!"

"Don't tease the poor boy, my dear, " said my mother, looking at me withfond admiration as most mothers would do, probably, under similarcircumstances. "He looks very nice--very nice, indeed. I'm sure he isthe very image of what you were when I first saw you, Frank!"

"Thanks, my dear, for the compliment, " replied Dad, bowing to herhalf-jocularly, half-seriously, while he heaved a deep sigh. "I'm notmaking fun of Jack at all. I really was thinking how long ago it issince I donned the same uniform like him for the first time. Ah me, thirty years and more have passed since then; and I'm an old fogey, while he's just beginning life! I hope, my dear Jack, you'll never doanything to make you ashamed of having put on the Queen's livery!"

"That I won't, Dad, " said I emphatically; and I meant it! "I'll try tofollow your example, and always recollect I am your son. "

"You cannot do better, my dear Jack, " said mother, putting one of herarms round my neck caressingly, and stretching out her other hand totake Dad's. "Your father was always known in the service as a gallantofficer and an honourable gentleman; and if you follow his example, myboy, you will neither disgrace the name you bear nor do discredit to HerMajesty's uniform! I look forwards, Jack, to your being a credit, notonly to us, but to your country and profession!"

I uttered no reply to my mother's little speech, though it made a deepimpression on me, for she was seldom given to expressing herself at suchlength, her words being generally few and to the point; but, I formedthere and then a resolve, which I have endeavoured to adhere to all mylife, that I would never do anything to make her ashamed of me, norcause pain to her and Dad, the latter of whom remained silent likemyself. 

He was thinking, I felt sure, of the approaching parting between us, when I should be beyond his care and only have to trust to the traininghe had given me. 

He knew, however, that I would still be under the watchful eye ofanother Father, who guards and guides the sailor afloat amidst thestormy waters of the deep as well as the landsman ashore, and whose loveand forethought are more to be trusted even than that of our earthlyparents, prize us as dearly as they will. 

On the following morning, to make a long story short, I bade adieu toDad and mother, both of them accompanying me to the landing steps at thefoot of Hardway to see me off in the waterman's wherry that Dad hailedfor the conveyance of myself and sea-chest to the _Illustrious_. 

She was lying in the stream near the mouth of the harbour, as Imentioned I believe before when speaking of my first view of Portsmouth;and as the tide was then at the ebb and running out fast, we were verysoon alongside the training-ship, whose huge, black hull glistened inthe bright sunshine. 

There was a little chap standing by the marine sentry at the entry porton the main deck, where I noticed as I went up the accommodation laddera little chap only about my own age, but looking as "cocksy" as youplease. 

He was dressed in a similarly smart new uniform to my own, and his face, somehow or other, seemed familiar to me. I could see, too, that helooked as if he recognised me in some sort of way, or was anxious tomake my acquaintance. 

"Hullo!" he cried, as I gained the deck and returned, with muchconscious dignity, the marine's salute, "why, you're the fellow whonearly got stranded in Euclid!"

This remark of his brought back to my mind in an instant the scene inthe examination room on board the gunnery ship, and I identified him inan instant, giving him a "Roland" for his "Oliver. "

"Oh, you're the little chap who was so awfully stumped in spelling atdictation eh, old fellow?" I retorted, making the marine sentry grin asthe ship's corporal on duty hailed my waterman to pull forward under themain yard for my chest to be hoisted inboard. "How did you manage toscramble through, eh?"

"Only by the skin of my teeth, " he answered, smiling all over his facein such a good-humoured way that I could not help taking a liking tohim. "Just the same as you did, I suppose, Mr Sharp!"

"That isn't my name, " said I, laughing, "but we won't quarrel aboutthat. Let us make friends instead. "

"Agreed, " said he, laughing too. "I liked the cut of your jib when Ifirst saw you in that awful place the other day. I was so sorry Icouldn't help you with your Euclid. "

"Really? Well, I was sorry I couldn't help you with your spelling, youlooked so woe-begone over the big words, " I replied, giving him anotherdig for his unkind reminiscence of my old nightmare. "I think it was`Mesopotamia' that finally finished you, wasn't it?"

"Pax!" cried he, beseechingly. "You're a bit too sharp for me, I see, to try chaffing with. Let us be chums, as you suggest, old boy. Myname is Tom Mills. "

"All right, old chap, " I rejoined, gripping the hand he stretched out tome as cordially as he had offered this gage of friendship. "I am JackVernon. That's my name!"

"Well, Jack, " said he, addressing me as familiarly as if we had knowneach other for years. "You seem a jolly sort of fellow, and I think Ishall like you. "

"Ditto, Master Tom, " said I, much amused at his hearty frankness ofspeech, for I had never come across such a free and easy fellow before. "You're another--that's all I can say, old chap!"

This set us off both laughing again; and, in the midst of our glee, upcame a tall man in a long frock-coat with a black sword-belt, but noepaulets or other distinguishing ornaments, whom I afterwards learnt wasthe master-at-arms. He asked me my name; and, informing me that I wasto report myself to the commanding officer, he led the way up the mainhatch to the quarter-deck above. 

This interview having been satisfactorily got through, I was thenescorted to the quarters of the naval instructor, who received me mostgraciously, telling me the hours of study and drill, and coaching megenerally in the routine of my duties. 

He catechised me all the while, I noticed, in a sly way in respect of myknowledge of mathematics, putting a series of innocent questions that Isaw were meant to test my acquirements. 

He did this, however, in such an insidious manner as to disarm me at theoutset, preventing my feeling that I was being examined and "turnedinside out, " so to speak. 

He was a nice fat old fellow like Mr Tangent. 

Indeed, the majority of naval chaplains I have come across in my time inthe service have as a rule been fat, the sea air apparently exercisingas beneficial an effect on the clerical constitution as a snug livingashore. 

This gentleman now, after telling me he thought I should do very well, excused me from any lessons that day, it being the first I was on board. He then dismissed me to join my messmates, whom, he said, I wouldprobably find below in the gunroom, as it was "close on the luncheonhour!"

This reflection seemed to give him some inward satisfaction; for, hepatted his waistcoat with a sort of pleasurable anticipation as I lefthim, asking the wardroom steward, who just then entered the cabin, whether there wasn't a veal and ham pie, I recollect. 

When I got down to the lower deck I had no need to inquire as to thewhereabouts of the gunroom. Such a din and babel of voices proceededfrom the after part of the ship that I was certain, from what Dad hadlet out to me of his former experiences at sea, the noise could onlyhave been made by a batch of middies and naval cadets in their momentsof relaxation from the stern discipline of the quarter-deck, when theywere allowed to give their superabundance of animal spirits full play. 

I was positive I must be in the near vicinity of the gunroom, the "happyhunting ground" of my messmates. Luncheon was evidently either over ornot yet begun; for, a crowd of youngsters, amongst whom I at onceperceived my friend Tom Mills, were grouped together on the open deck infront of the gunroom, where, as I afterwards heard, their hammocks wereslung at night. 

The lot were amusing themselves at some game I was not as yet acquaintedwith, but which evidently was one of the most boisterous character, a"rough and tumble" fight being nothing to it. 

"Hullo, Jack, here you are at last!" shouted out Tom Mills, on seeingme. "Come and join us, old fellow. We're playing at `piling thesacks. '"

"Piling the sacks?" I repeated. "What game is that?"

"Come along, " cried he, "you'll soon learn it. Here's a new hand, Master Miller. Sacks to the mill! sacks to the mill!"

Thereupon he and a couple of other fellows seized me by my arms and legsand put me on top of a pile of other johnnies, who were scrambling andstruggling and yelling on the deck in a confused mass, like an animatedroly-poly pudding just turned out of the pot!

Another chap was then tossed on above me, and then another and another, till I was well-nigh suffocated; and then, when the pile had reached thetop of the hatchway, the "Master Miller" toppled the lot of us over. 

On this, we all scrambled to our feet again, laughing and shouting inhigh glee; with collars torn and shirts crushed and the buttons wrenchedoff our jackets by the dozen. Only to begin the game again as before--until, finally, the master-at-arms made his appearance below with thecompliments of the first lieutenant to the "young gentlemen, " and apolite request for them to "make less noise. "

It was a jolly game, though, I can tell you!

The next day, we all commenced in earnest our studies in navigation andseamanship, the naval instructor with his assistants working us up inour mathematics and imparting to us the elements of plane and sphericaltrigonometry; while the boatswain and his mates gave us practicallessons in the setting up of rigging and making of knots, so that thereshould be no chance of our mistaking a "sheepshank" for a "cat's paw, "or a "Flemish eye" for a "grommet!"

Here I at once gained the good opinion of the boatswain by making a"Matthew Walker" knot which, I may mention for the benefit of theuninitiated, is used generally on ship board for the standing part ofthe lanyards of lower rigging. 

This I managed to achieve successfully at my first attempt, thanks toDad's previous instruction; and I not only "got to win'ard" of the oldseaman by the knowledge I thus displayed, but added to my laurels byshowing that I knew something also of the somewhat intricate arts of"worming" and "parcelling" and "serving" ropes when occasion arose fordealing with them in such fashion, repeating aloud, to the greatsatisfaction of my teacher, the distich which guides the tyro and tellshim how to do his work properly:--

 "_Worm_ and _parcel_ with the lay, And _serve_ the rope the other way!"

With my mathematical studies, too, I made equal progress, in spite of myoriginal dislike to friend Euclid and his vexatious propositions. 

I also learnt how to find my latitude, by "bringing down the sun" withthe sextant; and was taught the bearings and deviation of the compass, as well as the mastery of the log-line and other similar little nicetiesof navigation. 

These preliminaries achieved, I was reported by the naval instructor tothe captain of the training-ship as "efficient" long before myprobationary period of three months had expired. 

The captain of the training-ship, in due course, reported me to theAdmiralty; and one fine morning I received official notice from theSecretary informing me that I was to go to sea, being appointed to the_Candahar_, line-of-battle ship, just commissioned for service on theChina station; where, it was reported, matters were getting a littleticklish at the time, our government being at loggerheads with that ofthe emperor of the sun, moon and stars, and war imminent between the twocountries. 

It was certainly a splendid opening for me!

"By jingo! you're a lucky johnny, " said little Tom Mills when I told himthe news, my chum heaving a sigh of disappointment at this earlyseverance of our friendship. He was, I could see, also a little jealousof my going to sea before him. "I'll write to my father and see if hecannot get me appointed to the same ship!"

"I hope you will, Tom, " cried I, as I wrung his hand at the gangway, parting company at the same time with the rest of my old messmates, whohad not yet passed through the course of the training-ship, all of whomgathered round to see the last of me. "I promise you, old chap, Isha'n't have any other chum if you don't come with me!"

With these words, I ran down the ladderway; and, the next moment, wasseated with three other cadets, who were leaving like myself to goafloat, in the sternsheets of the second cutter. 

This last had been detailed by the commander to take us off to the_Candahar_; then lying alongside the old _Blake_ hulk and moored in thestream, about midway between the Sheer Jetty and the King's Stairs, where she was "fitting out for sea" as speedily as possible, theauthorities having urged the utmost haste in her preparation. 

"Shove off!" sang out the coxswain; and, impelled by her twelve oars, that were manned by as many pairs of stalwart arms, the boat sprangthrough the water. 

The last sound I heard, beyond the wash of the tide against the side ofthe cutter and the subdued breathing of the men pulling, was little TomMills' voice in the distance shouting until I got out of earshot, "Good-bye, Jack, old fellow, good-bye!"

CHAPTER SIX. 

ON BOARD THE OLD "CANDAHAR. "

"In bows!" cried the coxswain of the cutter as we neared the starboardside of the old hulk to which the _Candahar_ was lashed; and, the nextminute, when close up to the foot of the accommodation ladder, the samefunctionary shouted the usual orders on approaching to board a ship. "Way enough. Oars!"

The oars were at once tossed, while the bowman gripped a projectingringbolt in the side of the hulk with his boathook to hold on by; andthe other cadets and myself, jumping out on to the ladderway, made ourway nimbly enough up to the deck of the mastless _Blake_, passing overher by a gangway to the _Candahar_ that lay on her further side. 

Here all was apparent confusion, stores of all sorts being hoisted in bya derrick amidships from the dockyard lighters alongside and struck downthe main hatchway, while ropes and tackle of every description lumberedthe upper deck fore and aft. 

Groups of men, clad in dirty overalls, were busy setting up the riggingand getting the yards into position; and hoarse orders were shouted everand anon, followed by the shrill pipe of the boatswain's whistle and thesteady tramp of the hands as they walked round with the capstan andswayed the heavy spars aloft, or hauled away at the gantlines andsteadying guys and purchase falls and other tackle. 

The commander, the presiding spirit of the scene, if a smart officer, has never a better opportunity for showing his smartness than when aship is fitting for sea; all the burthen of the work then falls upon hisshoulders, for he has to be here and there and everywhere, directing ahundred different jobs at one and the same time. 

As I went aft, and approached the hallowed ground of the quarter-deck, Isaw him standing under the break of the poop. 

He was a fine, big, broad-shouldered west-countryman with the voice of astentor; and, although he was dressed in a somewhat shabby old uniformcoat and had his trousers tucked into his boots, he looked every inch agentleman, as he was, indeed, not only by birth, but by breeding. 

"Come on board, sir, " said I touching my cap, when a slight lulloccurred in the general din caused by the creaking blocks and groaningtackle as the heavy spars were swayed aloft, and the continual tramp ofmen along the deck "walking up the capstan" or hoisting at the whipsleading down into the hold. "I've just come on board, sir. "

"Oh, you've come on board, youngster, eh?" he repeated questioningly, slewing round in his tracks and bringing his piercing black eyes to bearon my small person; when he looked me through and through, "taking mymeasure" at a glance. "Ah, I see, you're one of our new cadets from the_Illustrious_ come to report yourself, eh?"

"Yes, sir, " I replied, smiling in response to the pleasant look on hisface. "I've come to join the _Candahar_, sir. "

"What's your name, young gentleman?"

I told him. 

"Ah, you're the little shaver Mr Tangent spoke of to me the other nightwhen I dined with the Admiral! He said he knew your father, and thoughtyou would turn out a smart officer; so, I hope you'll support the goodcharacter he gave you. Belay there, bosun's mate, you'll let that caskdown by the run if you don't look out!" he cried out suddenly to a stoutpetty officer who was superintending a gang of men who were taking inprovisions from one of the lighters alongside, and lowering the sameinto the after hold. "Steady, you may carry on, now; that's better!"

"Now, my little friend, " he continued, resuming his conversation withme. "We'll see how smart you can be. Run forruds and tell the bosun Iwant the sail burton brought aft, and an up and down tackle fitted tothe mainyard, if you are able to recollect all that?"

"Oh, yes, sir, " I replied, touching my cap again, "I know what a sailburton is, sir. "

"And an up and down tackle, too?"

"Yes, sir; it is used for setting up the lower rigging. "

"Bravo, youngster! You'll be a man before your mother if you go on atthat rate!" said he, with a hearty laugh at my assurance, which seemedto frighten the other cadets who came with me, for they looked as meekas mice. 

But, as I trotted away at a sign of dismissal from him to seek theboatswain on the forecastle, where I knew his especial domain lay, Iheard Commander Nesbitt say in an undertone to one of the lieutenantswho just then stepped down from the poop to join him. "That's a sharplad, Cheffinch, and one who'll make his mark, if I'm not mistaken. He'squite a contrast to the sucking Nelsons they generally send us from thetraining-ship, who don't, as a rule, know a goose from a gridiron!"

What the lieutenant said in reply to this complimentary allusion to mywhilom comrades of the _Illustrious_, and the system of instructionpursued on board that vessel, I cannot tell, for I was out of earshot, hastening forward as speedily as I could, so as to deserve the goodopinion the commander seemed to have already formed of me. 

This, I may here add, I succeeded in doing; for, I made my reappearanceon the quarter-deck in a brace of shakes, with the boatswain in personand a party of topmen bringing aft the respective "purchases" thecommander had specified--blocks and strops and running gear of allsorts, all ready for instant service. 

"Mr Hawser, " said Commander Nesbitt to the boatswain as we got near, giving me a kindly nod to express his approval of my having carried outhis orders so promptly, "I must have that main-tops'l yard up before youpipe to dinner. "

"Very good, sir, " replied the warrant officer, touching his cap again, as he had done when approaching the sacred precincts of thequarter-deck. "The spar, sir, is fitted all right for going up; but, sir, it's getting on now for Seven Bells. "

"I don't care what the time is, bosun; it's got to be done, and that'sthe long and the short of it, " retorted the commander sharply, flashinghis eyes in a way that showed he was not to be put off when he had oncemade up his mind. "Maintop, there!"

"Ay, ay, sir, " answered the captain of the top, looking over the railinstantly and leaving off the work of fitting the upper standingrigging, on which he and his men were engaged when this vigorous hailreached the top, thundered out with all the power of the commander'slungs. "Want me down, sir?"

"Down? No, my man; but lower a whip at once for the sail burton, andyou can lower the tops'l tye as well. I'm going to send up the yard atonce!"

"Ay, ay, sir. "

Promptitude begets like promptness. 

Before you could say "Jack Robinson, " the whip was down and the purchasein the top; then, the standing part of the tackle was made fast to theyard pendant and the spar swayed up, as the men walked away with thefall, which was rove through a snatchblock hooked on to a ringbolt fixedin the deck and led to the capstan. 

Ere a quarter-of-an-hour had elapsed, the yard was slung and firmlysecured, with the halliards and braces rigged in proper fashion. 

In the middle of the operation, however, the attention of thehard-worked commander was called in another direction. 

A fat, heavy, seafaring-looking man in a short pilot jacket came up tohim as he was uttering rapid commands to the sailors aloft in stentorianaccents from the poop-rail. 

"Beg pardon, sir, " said this gentleman, whom I presently learnt was MrQuadrant, the master, or navigating officer of the ship; one who used inthe old days to have charge of all the material on board a man-of-war, just as the commander looks after the crew. "None of those stores, sir, have come off from the dockyard that were promised this morning, and allmy hands are idle below. What am I to do, sir?"

"Send a boat at once to the storekeeper, to lodge a complaint. "

"Yes, sir. But, there's only the jollyboat left, sir, now, besides thedinghy. All the others are ashore. "

"Well, send the jollyboat; and, I say, Mr Quadrant, " added CommanderNesbitt as the master was waddling off down the companionway, "tell themidshipman who goes with the boat that if the things are not sent aboardat once, he is to make application at the Admiral's office, complainingof the delay. P'raps, though, you'd better go yourself, eh?"

"I will if you like, sir, " sighed the master, who had already had toomuch exercise between decks and up and down the hatchways to feelenamoured of a walk ashore over the rough cobblestones of the dockyard. "But, I don't think they'll hurry any the more for me than they wouldfor a middy, sir. He would be able, too, sir, to cheek the yard peopleall the better, sir. "

"Just as you please, Mr Quadrant, " returned the commander in a decidedtone. "I should prefer, however, your going yourself to sending anyother officer. " This was equivalent to an order; and the master with adeep groan disappeared, only to make room for Mr Nipper, the purser. 

This gentleman came across the gangway from the hulk--on board of whichwe were all berthed while our own ship was fitting out. He seemed in agreat heat, as if something had put him out very much indeed, lookingworried beyond endurance. 

"Captain Nesbitt, sir, " said he to the commander, touching his cap likethe others, "what am I to do, sir?"

"I'm sure I can't say, Mr Nipper, " rejoined the commander in anoff-hand way, for he had just given the order to sway the yard aloft, and was watching whether the spar cleared the top and keeping a wary eyethat it did not get foul of the mainstay, or something else aloft. "What's the matter?"

"Those people at the victualling yard haven't sent our fresh beef yetaboard, sir, " answered the purser, a thin, fussy little man, in awhining way, as if he were going to cry, "and there's nothing to serveout for the men's dinners--at least, not enough for all. "

"That's too bad!" cried the commander, indignantly; "why did you nottell me of this before?"

"I was expecting the boat would come with the meat every minute, sir. "

"Is there no beef at all on board?"

"Only the wardroom and gunroom supply. "

"Then serve that out at once to the men--they sha'n't go without theirdinner if I can help it. "

"But, sir, what will the officers do?"

"Ah, you must settle that as best as you can with the wardroom steward, sir! Let this, Mr Nipper, be a lesson to you in future not to put offthings until the last moment! You may take the dinghy, if you like, by-and-by and go to Clarence yard yourself, to see what can be done forgetting some more beef for the wardroom and gunroom mess; but, I cannotspare another officer or man. We're much too short-handed already!"

This was true enough, for we had only about a couple of hundred men ofour crew, including the seamen, gunners and petty officers, as yetaboard. 

In those days only the marines and boys were drafted to ships when firstcommissioned, the compliment having to be made up as hands volunteeredto join in response to the bills inviting enrolment that were stuck upin some selected public-house or tavern ashore, which, as themaster-at-arms told me, was called the "Randy-woo!"

The continuous service system now in vogue was not adopted until withina comparatively recent period, say some thirty years ago at the outside;prior to this all bluejackets on their discharge from a ship when shewas paid off, instead of being merely granted leave according to thepresent custom, became absolutely free men and having the right to quitthe service, if they so wished, for good and all. 

Although, should they change their minds after their money was all spentand come forward to join another ship about to be commissioned, thedifferent periods they might have previously served afloat countedtowards the time required to qualify them for a pension. 

When, therefore, the _Candahar_ was ordered to hoist the pennant and hercaptain and other officers appointed, she only received a certainpercentage of trained gunnery hands from the _Excellent_, with a fewboys and marines. 

She had to go into the open market, as it were, for the rest of hercrew, like any ordinary ship about to sail on a trading voyage. 

Such being the case, following the usual practice at the time, the "EarlSaint Vincent, " a tavern on Common Hard, was chosen for ourrallying-place, or rendezvous. 

A large broadsheet was exposed in the window of this tavern invitingable-bodied seamen and artificers to join the battleship; one of ourlieutenants attending each day for a certain number of hours at thelittle shipping office which was established in the bar parlour of thetavern to inspect the discharge notices and certificates of any sailorsor landsmen who might wish to join. 

The officer relegated to this duty took care to satisfy himself that anycandidates he selected should pass muster with the commander beforesending them on board. 

He knew well enough that if the men had previously served in the navyand their characters were marked "very good, " or even "good, " there waslittle doubt of their acceptance. 

Up to the date of my going on board the ship, though, our recruitingagency had not been very successful. 

Not half our required number of men, had, indeed, as yet volunteered forthe _Candahar_; for, most of the old hands worth their salt fought shyof the station she was reported to be going to, on account less of itsunhealthiness, which to Jack is of small account, than to the absence ofany prize-money or extra pay, such as might be gained even on the deadlyWest Coast, with its malarial fever and pestiferous mangrove swamps thatform the white man's grave. 

But, all of a sudden, public opinion, so far as the sailor world wasconcerned, veered round in our favour. 

It had leaked out that there was a prospect of our having a scrimmagewith the mandarins. 

In this case, of course, there would be dollars and other sorts of"loot" knocking about. 

So, that very day, volunteers began to come off to the ship; not bythrees and fours as they had done before, but by twenties and more at astretch. 

Of these the launch brought off a large cargo alongside immediatelyafter the commander's interview with the purser; and I thus had theopportunity of seeing how the men were scrutinised and sorted for the"watch bill, " which the chief of our executive made out himself--asindeed he seemed to do everything, looking after everybody else all thewhile. 

The coxswain of the launch, with a touch of his forelock, handed overthe discharge notes and certificates of such of the motley group thatcame up the side that had these documents, which the second lieutenant, a knowing fellow, who was in charge of our shipping office that morning, had pocketed when he engaged the men; doing this as a sort ofpreventative to their backing out of the bargain afterwards. 

These greasy papers, which he did not open, were then passed on to themidshipman on duty on the quarter-deck, with orders to take them to thepurser's office; and the commander then proceeded to muster the lotabaft the mainmast bitts. 

"What were you aboard your last ship?" asked he of a smart-lookingseaman on the right of the line as they stood across the deck facinghim, who appeared neater and nattier than the rest. "What rating didyou take up?"

"Cap'en of the foretop, sir. "

"All right, you're the very man I want!" said the commander. "You maygo and do the duty, and if you are diligent and active you shall havethe rate. "

The next chap stated he had been an able seamen in his previous ship, sohe was sent on to the forecastle to add to the long roll already there. 

So was another and another, till Commander Nesbitt lighted on a man whosaid he had been a shipwright in the dockyard, whom he marked down tojoin the carpenter's crew. 

Several ordinary seamen followed, until the fag end of the lot wasreached, consisting of a number of greenhorns who had never been to seapreviously; and these, on declaring their willingness to serve HerGracious Majesty, were sent down into the steerage to join theafter-guard. 

"What are you?" inquired the commander of a sooty sort of gentleman, who, with another more morose personage, stood at the extreme rear ofthis group. "I mean, what did you do ashore for a livelihood, my man?"

"Wot hev h'I been a-doin' of fur a lively-hood, sir?" repeated the sootygentleman, who evidently was a wag, speaking, albeit with a comicalexpression on his countenance, with a native dignity that would have wonthe praise of Lord Chesterfield. "W'y, sir, h'I'm a `h'upright, ' sir, that's wot h'I h'am!"

"An `upright'!" exclaimed Commander Nesbitt, with a smile. "I've heardof wheelwrights, and millwrights and shipwrights, of course, but neverof such a calling as an `upright'--what's that, eh?"

"I thought as 'ow I'd puzzle you, sir, " replied the man with a grin. "I'm a chimbly-sweeper by trade. "

"Oh, a chimney-sweeper? Then you ought to be good at climbing, and Icannot do better than send you aloft. You can go forrud now. "

Saying this, the commander turned to the last man the morose one, questioning him in like fashion. 

"And what have you been?"

"I'm a `downright, ' sir, " said he, as grave as a judge. "Wot they callsa `downright, ' sir. "

"Now, don't you try on any of your jokes with me, my man, or you'll findyourself in the wrong box, which is the strong box on board ship, andvulgarly called chokey!"

"I ain't a-joking, " replied the other, speaking as gravely as before andwithout even the shadow of a smile on his face. "I'm a `downright, 'that's what I am. "

"Pray, what profession is that, " asked the commander, sarcastically. "Iwould not like to hurt your feelings by calling your avocation a trade!"

"You're right, sir, " returned the other, as calmly as possible, withoutturning a hair; "I'm a gravedigger. "

This fairly made the commander collapse. 

"You may muster with the after-guard, " was the only reply he made, butwe all could see that he had hard work to keep his gravity, as he turnedtowards the boatswain's mate and ordered him to pipe the men to dinnerin a sharp tone; and he said to Mr Cheffinch, the gunnery lieutenant, when he crossed over the deck to go on board the old _Blake_ to lunch, "He had me nicely there, like that other joker the chimney-sweeper. Itmust have been a planned thing between the two rascals!"

CHAPTER SEVEN. 

WE GO OUT TO SPITHEAD. 

Passing across the gangway with Commander Nesbitt to the hulk, whichserved as a sort of floating hotel for all of us while the _Candahar_was preparing for sea, officers and men alike sleeping and messing inher and only going on board our own ship during working hours betweenmeals, as long as daylight lasted, I found Dr Nettleby, the chief ofour medical staff, with one of his assistants, busily engaged in thesick bay on the main deck. 

They were examining all the new hands who had just joined, to seewhether any of them were suffering from organic disease, or some otherphysical infirmity that might incapacitate them for service afloat, nonebut the able-bodied being accepted. 

The curtained door of the sick bay being open and the cabin itself closeto the main hatchway, which I had necessarily to pass in going below tothe gunroom, I could not help overhearing something of what wasproceeding in the medical sanctum, the more especially from the fact ofDr Nettleby, the presiding genius, having a short temper and a snappymanner of expressing himself peculiarly his own. 

He was a good-hearted man at the bottom, however, and as tender as awoman in cases of real suffering; though woe to the malingerer orshammer of illness who incautiously ventured within reach of his caustictongue!

A couple of the cadets who had come on board with me that morning werestanding by the doorway of the sick bay, in company with one of theolder midshipmen and some others; and, seeing these all grinning, as ifenjoying themselves mightily at what was going on within, I joined thegroup--the lot of us sheltering ourselves from observation behind a tallcanvas screen that was rigged across the deck amidships, shutting outthe draught from the port-holes fore and aft, besides serving also as anante-room to the doctor's cabin and surgery. From this inner apartmentwould emerge ever and anon some culprit marine or shamefaced seaman, trying to walk steady, who, having perhaps been a trifle too jollyovernight and pleading indisposition as an excuse for his inability toattend to his duties, had been brought before the doctor for treatment--only, alas! to receive a dose of pungent satire, in lieu of the soothingmedicine they craved to banish the effects of their drunken spree. Meanwhile, the new hands who were awaiting their medical examinationwere drawn up on the other side of the gangway, "marking time" untilthese regular, or rather irregular, patients were disposed of in turn, no doubt enjoying the fun like ourselves. 

"Listen, " whispered Larkyns, the senior midshipman, nudging the fellownext him and winking to me as I came up. "That's Macan, our corporal ofmarines, who's getting it now. By Jove, the doctor is giving it himhot!"

He certainly was, judging from what reached my ears, at least. 

"Stuff and nonsense, corporal!" I heard Dr Nettleby rasp outsnappishly, his voice sounding from within the cabin just like a terrierdog barking, for I could hear him plainly enough. "You can't gammon me, my man, though you might take in the first lieutenant! It's `rumatism, 'not rheumatism you're suffering from, you scoundrel! You've beendrinking, that's what's the matter with you; and if I report you to thecap'en, as I ought, you'll not only lose your stripes before sunset, butget four dozen as well, and serve you right, too!"

"Faith, yer honour, I haven't tasted a dhrop of anythin' barrin' taysince yesterday noon at Eight Bells. May I die this minnit if I have, sor, " boldly asserted the accused in a rich Irish brogue that was asdistinct as the doctor's voice. "It's the rheumaticks, sure! I've got'em in the legs bad this toime and can't hould mesilf up at all, norwalk more than a choild!"

"Macgilpin, just diagnose this case for me, " cried the doctor to hisassistant. "What does he smell of?"

"Whuskey, " replied the assistant-surgeon, a rawboned expert fromEdinburgh, who had only recently donned Her Majesty's uniform andbrought his north-country accent with him when he came southwards. "There's nae doot aboot that. He smells o' whuskey, and bad whuskey, tae!"

"Begorrah, yer nose is wrong, sor, and the doctor's roight, as he alwaysis, sor, beggin' yer pardon, " said the culprit, confessing his offencein his anxiety to stand up for the medical insight of the chief, withwhom he had served before and whose professional pride he knew how towork upon. "It was rhum, sure enough. "

"You rascal!" shouted out Dr Nettleby. "Why, not a moment ago youswore you hadn't tasted a drop of anything but tea alone sinceyesterday. "

"Faith, yer honner, I didn't know it wor rhum till too late, sor. Isware, sor, I droonk it out av a taypot. "

"Out of a teapot, man?"

"Yis, sor, I'll till yer honner how it wor, sure, " explained the wilyfellow, who could tell from the doctor's change of tone that his offencewas condoned and that he need fear no worse consequences now than one ofhis usual lectures, which only went in at one ear and out at the other, as Dr Nettleby himself said. "I wint over to the rendywoo last noightbe the cap'en's orders, sor, fur to say if there wor any more handsawaitin' to jine. Faith an' there I mates me wife's first cousin, Bridget O'Halloran, as is merried now be the same token to SargintLintstock. "

"Sergeant Lintstock?"

"Ay, sor, that same, which makes him, sure, me second cousin onceremoved, though, faith, he's me soupayrior orfiser! But, as I werea-tellin' ye, sor, in comes Bridget whilst I were talkin' to thejintleman behoind the bar at the rendywoo. I were jist axin' what thecap'en tells me to axe him; an' `Mike, ' says she, cordial like, `have apartin' glass wid me fur the sake of the ould country as ye're abut tolave. '

"`Faith an' that's more nor I dare, Bridget, ' says I. `I promist thedocthor, sure, I wouldn't touch another dhrop o' sperrits for the nixtfour-an'-twenty hours, as I'm a livin' sinner!'

"`But I don't want ye to dhrink sperrits, ' says she. `Me an' me frindMistress Wilkins here is jist havin' a cup of tay, sure; an' axes ye tojine us, that's all!'

"`Faith I'm not the bhoy fur to disobleege the ladies, ' says I, `ye cangive us a cup, if that's all ye wants me fur to do. ' Wid that, Bridgetups with the taypot, a little brown one it wor, sure, by the same token, an' pours me out a cupful in a mug that lay handy sure on the counther, which I drinks to the hilth of her an' Missis Wilkins as wor standin'by. It wor right-down beautiful tay; so I has another one to the hilthof Bridget's husband the sarjint, an' thin another, that wor a littleone faith! to the hilth of the babby; an', begorrah, sor, I rimimbers nomore till this mornin' whin I fales so bad wid the rheumatics as Icouldn't lift me hid out of me hammock. The sarjint says I wor droonk, but I worn't, sor; though somehows or t'other I thinks it must have beenrhum I wor drinkin' at the rendywoo an' not tay as Bridget telled me atthe toime, sayin' it wor good fur the stummick an' wud kape the cowldout!"

"I don't believe a word of your story, " I heard the doctor answer tothis long and circumstantial yarn. "Why, Macan, you're drunk now!"

"Me droonk now, sor?" repeated the other in a tone of mingled sorrow andsolemnity. "Faith I'm as sobher as a jidge this very minnit, as I'm alivin' sinner!"

"Don't tell me any more of your lies!" cried out the doctor irascibly atthis juncture, interrupting what further asservation the corporal mighthave made in support of his unblushing assertion. "You can go forrudnow and thank your stars I don't report you, as I had more than half amind to at first. If I did, you'd be put into the black list and loseyour stripes to a dead certainty. "

"May the saints presarve yer honner, " exclaimed Macan with effusion ashe was thus dismissed, but he was still not satisfied apparently at hisword being doubted; for, as he passed us, working his way forward by aseries of short tacks, he kept on muttering half aloud, much to ouramusement, "It's all through that blissid Scotch sawbones wid his long`dog nose' as he calls it, sayin' it wor whisky. I'm as shober as ajidge, faith--as shober as a jidge!"

No more unfortunate circumstance, however, could have occurred for thecorporal of marines, in spite of the doctor having let him off soeasily, for, through our overhearing this dialogue between the two, theyarn he had told of meeting his "cousin Bridget" soon got round theship, and the men could always put him in a rage whenever they liked byan allusion to the "taypot" and his cousin's friend "Missis Wilkins. "

We stopped a little longer listening outside the sick bay, but soon gaveup the pastime, nothing occurring to interest us during the medicalexamination of the new hands, a fresh batch of whom came aft, by theway, at Four Bells; for all of them were quickly passed by the doctorand were detailed for duty aloft and below, where many jobs were at astandstill for want of men. 

This enabled the commander to press on with the work of rigging theship, the crossjack, or "crochet" yard being sent up by the aid of themizzen burton hooked on in front of the top; after which the jack wasslung and the trusses fixed on, the spar brought home to the mast, thelifts and braces having been fitted before swaying, as is the case withall the lower yards in men-of-war. 

The mizzen-trysail mast, on which the spanker is set, was also got up bymeans of the same tackle; and, what with hoisting in some of the maindeck guns and sails and other gear, the afternoon quickly passed. 

I was not sorry when dinner-time came, Five Bells in the first dogwatch, for I was pretty well tired to death with this, my first day'sexperience on board the _Candahar_, in running up and down the decksfore and aft as Commander Nesbitt's special messenger. It was, however, a very good introduction to the life I should have to lead for the nextfew years of my career; for, as a junior officer, I would be at the beckand call of everyone on the quarter-deck and "hardly able to call mysoul my own, "--as Dad had more than once warned me beforehand. 

Still, I must say, notwithstanding certain drawbacks, which subsequentexperience brought to light in due course, I liked it all, taking therough side of sea life with the smooth, and would not change my lot if Ihad the opportunity of making my choice over again, even knowing what Ido now of the service!

My captain I had not as yet seen much of; for, although he came offevery day to sign papers and receive reports, as well as see how thingswere going on generally, he lived on shore and did not interfere at allwith Commander Nesbitt, who carried on the work as he pleased. 

The latter being a good officer, who thoroughly knew his duty and asailor every inch of him, as I have already described, Captain Farmer, as he probably well understood, could not have done better than thusleave matters to his second in command while the ship was in harbour. 

The Honourable Digby Lanyard, our first lieutenant, was a tallsupercilious young man of five-and-twenty or so who wore an eyeglass. 

This was more for effect than from any defect of vision, for he was assharp as a needle; and could see a bit of spunyarn adrift or a rope outof place aloft even quicker than the commander, keen-sighted as he was. 

Amongst the men on the lower deck, who have, as a rule, some petnickname for most of their officers, especially those whom they maychance to like or dislike more than the rest, he always went by thesobriquet of "glass-eye"; and it was wonderful how this dandy chap whowas so particular in his dress and would mince his words in conversationwith his brother officers in the wardroom, speaking with a lisp ofaffectation and a languid air as if it were too much trouble toarticulate distinctly, would, when the occasion arose, roar out hisorders in a voice that could be heard from one end of the ship to theother and make the men skip about, like the young lambs mentioned by thePsalmist!

As for us youngsters, we dreaded his icy contemptuous stare and his"haw-haw" manner more than anything. 

He seemed to have the power of freezing us with a look should he evercondescend to notice us at all; but this, fortunately, was very seldom, the lieutenant being wont to ignore our existence except when he hadreason to call us to account for some neglect of duty, at which times wedisliked more his disdainful glance, accompanied, as it invariably was, by some cold sarcastic allusion to our shortcomings, than the bullyingand bad language of some of the other officers who were not so refined. 

Such at all events was the opinion Dick Andrews and Teddy Allison andthe other cadets had of him, as well as myself; though Fred Larkyns, thebig senior midshipman, who patronised us and whom we all liked, he wassuch a jolly fellow and up to all sorts of fun, said we would find"glass-eye" not half a bad chap "when we came to know him better. "

Subsequent events will tell how far Mr Larkyns proved to be right inthis conclusion of his; albeit, we demurred to it at the time that hepropounded it in his dogmatic way, rapping poor little Teddy Allison onthe head with a parallel ruler, which he held in his hand at the moment, for daring to dispute his oracular assertion on the point and making usall laugh by a capital imitation of the haughty airs of our pet aversionand his cynical mode of speech, while in the same breath he took hispart, generous lad that he was!

We were all too busy, however, to notice the various peculiarities andcharacteristics of our messmates beyond such as we were brought moreimmediately in contact with. 

Indeed, we had not time even to settle down on board and know each otherproperly; for each day added to our company, increasing the number ofstrange faces around us, so that I began to wonder when we would atlength get our requisite complement and finish our apparently endlesstask of fitting out. 

"It is a long lane that has no turning, " though, as the old adage goes;and so, after three weeks more of enrolling volunteers at CorporalMacan's favourite "rendywoo, " and the hoisting in of many guns and boatsand stores and provisions of all sorts, until the _Candahar_, I thought, would never contain them all, we finally bent our sails, crossed royalyards and were declared "ready for sea. "

Captain Farmer came on board with "all his bag and baggage" on ourship's company "turning over" from the old hulk _Blake_, to which we allbade a long and welcome adieu, all hands being then mustered bydivisions to beat of drum along the upper and lower decks. 

We were eight hundred strong, all told; officers and men; bluejackets ofall ratings, and marines; boys and "idlers, " as some of thehardest-worked fellows aboard are somewhat inappropriately designated inthe watch bill, according to nautical etiquette; as motley a collectionat the first start, and yet as fine a set of fellows as you could pickout in a year's cruise!

These preliminaries being all arranged, we cast off from the hulk lateone November afternoon; and, the dockyard tug _Puffing Billy_ taking usin tow, proceeded to Spithead, where we anchored in eleven fathoms, letting out some six shackles of cable, so that we could swingcomfortably with the tide as it flowed in and out of the roadstead. 

CHAPTER EIGHT. 

A LITTLE SURPRISE. 

"I suppose, " said I, after we had cast anchor, to Larkyns, who hadkindly noticed me the first day I came aboard and had been very friendlywith me since, patronising me in the way the elder boys of the sixthform sometimes do the younger fellows at school, "we'll sail to-morrow, eh?"

"Sail to-morrow? Your grandmother!" he answered with his usual grin. Ibelieve that chap would have grinned if you had told him his father wasdead, for he looked on everything from a humorous point of view andcould not help laughing even when the captain spoke to him, which oftengot him in for an extra mast-heading. "Why, we haven't got in our lowerdeck guns yet, booby, let alone our powder and ammunition; besides allsorts of stores we could not ship in harbour!"

"Oh!" I exclaimed, somewhat crestfallen at his "snub", "I didn't thinkof that. "

"I suppose not, " replied he, mimicking me, "but you have a good deal tolearn yet, let me tell you. Hullo, though, Master Squaretoes, what doyou mean by coming on the quarter-deck with nails in your boots? You'llhave the first lieutenant after you, my joker, if he notices it, andthere'll be the dickens to pay, I can tell you!"

"What do you mean?" I retorted indignantly. "I have not got any nailsin my boots at all. "

"Haven't you, young shaver?" said he, grinning again and looking downwith mock pity at the pumps I wore, which were guiltless of even thesmallest tack, being all sewn, as I held up the soles for hisinspection. "Then, all I can say is I'm sorry for you! I really didn'tthink you were deformed--and such a young and promising chap, too!"

I got alarmed at this. 

"Deformed!" I repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Why, if you haven't any nails in your boots, or shoes--it doesn'tmatter which, but we'll say boots for argument's sake, " said mytormentor quizzingly--"it follows, naturally and logically, that youhave none on your toes! In which case, my poor young friend, you mustbe suffering from a malformation of the feet; or, in other words, youare deformed, according to Euclid, _quid demonstrandum est_, twiggyvous?"

"Oh, yes, I see, " said I, feeling rather nettled, I confess, at his thustaking a rise out of me. "You think that funny, I suppose; but, I callit both silly and vulgar!"

"`Silly!' `vulgar!' You very small fragment of impudence, " rejoinedLarkyns, highly delighted at being thus successful in "pulling my leg"and making me angry, "I'll have you keel-hauled for speaking sodisrespectfully to your superior officer, sir. Beg my pardon instantly, or--"

What he would have done, however, in case of my non-compliance with hisimperative request remains a mystery to the present day; for, as at thatmoment, the commander, who had been surveying the maintop from thepoop-rail above us, hearing my funny gentleman's voice, which he hadraised in speaking to me, called out to him--

"Below there, " he cried--"Mr Larkyns!"

"Yes, sir, " answered my "superior officer" humbly enough, touching hiscap and looking up at Commander Nesbitt. "Want me, sir?"

"Yes, " said the other, "There's something wrong with the bunt of thattops'l, I think. It does not appear to me quite ship-shape somehow orother, Mr Larkyns. Go up to the maintop and see what's the matter withit at once. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " replied my tormentor, springing nimbly into the riggingand shinning up the ratlines almost as soon as the words were out of thecommander's mouth, "I'll see, sir. "

I looked up at the moment, and, catching Commander Nesbitt's eye I'msure he gave a sort of sly wink, the which impressed on my mind theconviction that he must have overheard our conversation and, wishing togive Master Larkyns some employment for his spare time, had sent himaloft on a wild-goose chase. 

The topsail was stowed snugly enough, so, my friend the middy's missivewas set-off to his chaff at my expense. 

This conviction was confirmed when the commander immediately afterwardsordered me to go forwards and tell the boatswain to get the fish tackleclear for hoisting in the lower deck guns as soon as they came alongsidenext morning in the dockyard lighters. 

The old _Candahar_, you must know, although she was described in the"Navy List" of that day as a "two-decker, " had really four decks--theupper deck, main deck, lower deck and orlop deck. 

The distinction of the designation lay in the fact that she carried gunson two decks besides her upper one, the armament of which, as well asthat of her main deck had been got on board easily enough when she wasin harbour; but, as she was then lashed alongside the hulk and the lowertier of guns had to be taken in through the ports, this operation couldnot be very well managed until her broadside was clear of the hull ofthe other ship, so that the cannon could be lifted out of the lightersand swung inboard, without any intervening obstacle blocking the way andpossibly fouling the hoisting tackle and steadying gear, which was notthe case until we reached Spithead. 

Even then, it was no trifling task swaying the heavy guns out of theholds of the two lighters that brought them out to us early in themorning from the gun-wharf, one of these craft coming under our mainyardon either side; for, the guns were long thirty-two pounders, weighingfifty-six hundredweight, or nearly three tons apiece, and, even afterthey were hoisted up in mid air from the lighters they had then to behauled through one of the midship ports, mounted on their carriages andrun along the lower deck to their proper position, when the breechingsand side tackle had to be fitted before the job was completed. 

It was accomplished in good time, however, much to our commander'ssatisfaction; and, by the aid of the fish davit with its tackle andanother purchase, it did not take more than a couple of hours to shipthe whole thirty of these guns that comprised our lower deck armament. 

What formidable weapons I thought them! But, they were only babies tothe big rifled breechloaders now in vogue; albeit they did tidy enoughwork in the destructive line in their day, as the annals of our navy cantell, and other nations have experienced to their cost both on land andsea!

"Pretty little barkers, ain't they?" observed Mr Triggs, the gunner, noticing me looking at these "long thirty-twos, " as they were styled, and wondering at the light and airy fashion in which the men handledthem, tossing them about like shuttlecocks, so it seemed to me. "Theycan do more than bark; though, they can bite too, I tell ye!"

"Oh, yes, I quite believe that, Mr Triggs, " said I, taking advantage ofthe opportunity of giving a "snop" to Larkyns, who was also standing byand, of course, grinning as usual. "Not all smoke and noise, like somefellows' talk. "

"No, that they ain't, except, in course, when saluting, " replied thegunner, who was a plain matter-of-fact man and did not see the drift ofmy observation. "But, with a ten-pound charge, now, they'd make apretty fair hole in a six-inch plank, I tell ye. "

"How many of them, Mr Triggs, " I asked, "have we got on board?"

"Of these long 'uns?" he said, patting one affectionately on the breechas he spoke. "Well, we've jist fifteen here a-port and fifteena-starboard, which makes thirty in all on this deck. A power o' metal, I tell ye!"

"Oh, I know that, " said I. "But I mean how many of the same sort. "

"There ain't any more of the same sort, I tell ye, but what you sees, "rejoined the gunner a bit crossly. "The guns as is on the main deck andupper deck are all short thirty-two's; and, they're thirty too, o' themon the main, and twenty-two on the upper deck. They all of 'em carriesthe same weight of shot, though not such heavy guns as these, being onlyforty-five hundredweight each. "

"There, young Vernon, you can put that in your pipe and smoke it!"chimed in Larkyns, at this juncture, making a face behind the gunner'sback, which, had he seen it, might have altered the opinion that worthypresently expressed of the speaker. "That's `the long and the short ofit, ' as Mr Triggs has so eloquently explained!"

"Thank you, Mr Larkyns, for the compliment, " said the gunner, takingthe remark as a tribute to his conversational ability. "I allers triesto explain myself as well as I can. Is there anything more you'd liketo know, Master Vernon? I'm allers pleased to instruct any of you younggentlemen when you asks civilly!"

"You spoke just now of a ten-pound charge, " I answered. "I suppose youmean of powder without the shot?"

"That's not _charged_, " put in Larkyns, grinning. "The shot is given in`free, gratis, for nothing, ' as Paddy said. "

"Yes, Master Vernon, " replied the gunner, taking no notice this time ofLarkyns or his interpolation. "These here guns take a full charge often pounds of powder for long range, and redooced charges of six andeight pounds; whilst the charges of them on the main and upper deck areeither six or eight pounds, as the case might be, according to theservice required. "

"It must take an awful lot of powder for all the eighty-four guns, besides the shot and shell!"

"You can bet on that, " replied Mr Triggs, moving towards the side andlooking through the port in the direction of the harbour. "We carriesabout a hundred rounds of each charge for every gun; or, something likeninety tons for our whole armament. That's what it takes. "

"Ninety tons of gunpowder!" I exclaimed in astonishment. "Do you meanthat we've got to take such a quantity as that on board?"

"Of course I do; I always says what I means and means what I says, "rejoined Mr Triggs, somewhat snappishly again, as if tired of the longstring of puzzling questions with which I was now bothering him, like Iused to do my dear old Dad. "By Jingo! I'm blessed if there it ain'ta-coming off now, I tell ye!"

"Coming off, " I repeated. "Where?"

"There, booby, " said Larkyns, slewing me round and shoving my head rightout of the port. 

"Can't you see the powder hoy, there to your right, passing BlockhouseFort, at the mouth of the harbour?"

"That one flying the red flag, eh?"

"Yes, my dear Squaretoes; but we don't call a burgee a flag aboardships. "

"I wish you would not call me Squaretoes, Larkyns, " said I, peevishly, for he hurt me, squeezing my neck in his tight grip, holding me out ofthe port as if I were a kitten, so that I could not turn my head round. "I hate nicknames. Do leave me alone, please!"

"Ah, would you, now!" he exclaimed in reply, as I tried to wrench myselffree. "Don't cry, my little pet, you haven't got your mammy here tomollycoddle you!"

"Let me go, Larkyns, you're choking me, " I gasped out, wrigglingviolently and kicking out behind. "I'll hurt you if you don't loose me;I will, indeed!"

He wouldn't release me yet, however, seeing I was out of temper; and, some of the other middies not on duty gathering round, it being theirwatch below, egged Larkyns on, suggesting that as I seemed to thinkmyself such a "big gun, " I ought to be sponged and loaded and run out. 

This humorous advice was immediately acted upon, a couple of the ganglaying hold of my legs in spite of my kicks, while another assistedLarkyns, my tormenter; and the mischievous lot swung me backwards andforwards in and out of the port, until nearly all my clothes were pulledoff my back and I hadn't a sound button left to my jacket. 

I felt hot all over; and was in a fine rage, "I tell you, " as the gunnerused to say. 

Mr Triggs, meanwhile, had gone up the hatchway to see about getting onboard his ammunition, the vermilion-painted powder hoys I had observedin the distance at the mouth of the harbour being now nearly alongsidethe ship; and, all of a sudden, as my reckless shipmates were pulling mealmost to pieces between them in their mad prank, there came a cry fromthe deck above, "Stand clear, below there!"

At the same instant, a coil of rope whizzed by the port-hole out ofwhich my body projected, the bight of it narrowly escaping my head inits downward descent, wetting my face with the spray it threw up as itsplashed into the water right under me. 

I could not restrain a shriek of alarm; and, wriggling more violentlythan before in the hands of those holding me as I tried to releasemyself, I managed somehow or other to jerk away from their grasp, sending them all sprawling backward on the deck inboard, while I shotout of the port like a catapult, tumbling headlong into the sea as iftaking a header after the rope!

CHAPTER NINE. 

MY DIP GAINS ME A DINNER. 

Fortunately, though, as I fell, my outstretched hands, clutching wildlyin the air, came in contact with the identical rope whose sudden descentfrom the gangway above had been the unwitting cause of the disaster, thetail end of the "whip" Mr Triggs had ordered to be rigged up from thelee yardarm, in readiness to hoist in the powder when the hoy bringingthe same was made fast alongside. 

This naturally yielded to my weight as I clung to it, on account of theother end, which passed through a block fastened to the yard, not beingsecured. 

However, it let me down easy into the water, my unexpected immersionmaking no noise to speak of and hardly causing a ripple on the surfaceof the tide as it gurgled past the ship's counter and eddied away inripples under her stem. 

Not a soul on board, indeed, knew of my mishap save those merrymessmates of mine, all of whom doubtless, I thought, as soon as Iregained my composure after the fright and knew that I was comparativelysafe, would be in a great funk, fearing the worst had happened. 

Glancing upward, my head being just clear of the water, which I trod tokeep myself in an erect position, holding on, though, all the while, "like grim death, " to the rope, of which I had taken a turn round mywrist, I saw Larkyns, the ringleader of the frolic, leaning out over theport sill as pale as a ghost. 

He was looking downwards, in every direction but the right one, seekingvainly to discover me; and he evidently dreaded that I was drowned, hisface being the picture of misery and despair. 

"Hist, old chap, don't call out, " I whispered in a low voice, as he wasabout to give up the search and rouse the ship. "I'm all right, myboy. "

"My goodness Vernon, is that you? I thought you were lost, old chap, "he hailed back in the same key, the expression of his face changinginstantly to one of heartfelt relief. "Thank God you're not drowned!But, where are you, old fellow; I can't see you?"

"Right under your very nose, you blind old mole! I am bent on to abight of the whip falls, " I answered, with a chuckle. "Keep the otherend of the rope taut, old chap, and I'll be able to climb up back intothe port without anybody being the wiser but ourselves, my hearty, andso we'll all escape going into the report. "

He grasped the situation in an instant; and, likewise, saw theadvisability of keeping the matter quiet now that I was not in anyimminent peril. 

Master Larkyns knew as well as myself that if the tragic result of theirskylarking should get wind and reach the ears of Captain Farmer, he andhis brother mids would have a rough time of it, and probably all be hadup on the quarter-deck. 

"All serene, Vernon, I under-constubble, " he softly whispered back tome, in our gunroom slang. "Do you think you can manage to climb up byyourself, or shall I come down and help you?"

"Fiddlesticks, you duffer! I can get up right enough on _my own_cheek, " I said with a titter, though my mouth was full of the brackishwater into which I had plunged at first head and ears over, while myteeth were chattering with cold, the frosty November air being chilly. "I shall fancy I'm climbing the greasy pole at a regatta and that you'rethe pig on the top, old fellow. How's that, umpire, for your`Squaretoes, ' eh?"

"Ah, pax! You're a trump, Jack Vernon, and I promise never to call youby that name any more as it annoys you, " he replied, chuckling at myjoke, though it was at his own expense. He then leant out of the portfurther so as to get a tight grip of the whip fall, the other fellowsholding on to him in turn to prevent his toppling over and joining mebelow, singing out as soon as their preparations were completed, callingout to me, "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" I repeated, quoting my favourite Napierian motto again. "Ayready!"

"Then, up you come, my joker! Put your feet in the bight and hold on tothe slack of the rope above your head and we'll hoist you up in regularman-of-war fashion. Now, my lads, pull baker, pull devil!"

He spoke under his breath; and yet, I heard every word he said, not onlyto me, but to the others inboard, grouped behind him within the port. 

Quick as lightning I followed out his directions, clinging to the lowerend of the rope like an eel; and, as soon as I gave the word, Larkynsand the rest of the mids clapping on to the running part of the whipfalls, which ran through the block above, hoisted me up in a twinkling, as if I were a sack of flour, to the level of the port sill. 

Once there, I was clutched by a dozen eager hands, and my whilomtormenters dragged me in, all dripping, and landed me on the deck besidethem--"very like a fish, " according to the old adage; and bearing justthen the most unmistakable evidence of having come "out of water!"

After thus "landing me, " the ends of the whip tackle were dropped againover the side in the same stealthy manner in which my rescue waseffected, and as promptly. 

My frolicsome friends were not an instant too soon; for, even while theywere congratulating me all round, and declaring I was the best of goodfellows for behaving so bravely and not "kicking up a row, " though I hadgone overboard so suddenly, the big, broad-beamed powder hoy slewed upalongside and Mr Triggs bustled down the hatchway. 

Immediately after him came Mr Cheffinch, our gunnery lieutenant, accompanied by a strong working party to ensure the rapid transhipmentof the combustible material and its storage in the magazines; and wecould hear the boatswain piping all hands on the upper deck to man thewhip falls of the hoists and lowering tackle. 

I at once rushed away to my chest in the steerage, to change my wetclothes, hoping to return as quickly as I could to see what was goingon, without my plight being seen or anyone knowing what had happened toget me into such a drenched condition; but, unfortunately, CorporalMacan caught sight of me as I was struggling to open my chest, for myfingers were so numbed with the cold that the keys I held in my handjingled like castanets. 

"Begorrah an' it's a purty state ye're in, sor, " he said, eyeing me withmuch commiseration. "Sure an' ye've got the aguey. "

"Nonsense, Macan, " I answered shortly, wishing to shut him up at once, for he was Dr Nettleby's factotum and if he got hold of the story itwould soon be all over the ship. "I've only been splashed with somewater and want to shift my rig, that's all. "

"Sphlashed is it, sor?" he repeated with a broad grin that completelyshut out the rest of his face. "Faith, if ye was to axe me I'd tell ye, begorrah, ye looks loike a drowned rat, sor!"

"None of your impudence, corporal, " I said with dignity, not liking hiseasy familiarity; though, poor fellow, he did not mean any harm by it, as it was only his Irish way of speaking; "I'll report you to thesergeant. "

"An' is it rayporting _me_, sor, you'd be afther, an' you thremblin' allover, " he rejoined, catching hold of me and helping to peel off mysoaking garments. "Faith, sor, I'll be afther rayportin' _you_ to thedocthor!"

"Hi, hullo, who's taking my name in vain?" at that moment exclaimed DrNettleby himself, emerging from the gunroom at this critical juncture, the worthy medico having been making his rounds, looking up some ofthose of his patients who were not actually on the sick list. "I'm sureI heard that Irish blackguard Macan's voice somewhere. Ah, it is you, corporal, as I thought! Hi, hullo, what's the matter, youngster?"

"I--I'm all right, sir, " said I, trying to rise, but sinking back againon the lid of my chest, where I had been sitting down while thegood-natured marine was endeavouring to pull off my wet boots. "It isnothing, sir. "

"He's bin taking a dip in the say, sir, wid all his clothes on, "explained Macan; "an' faith he's got a bit damp, sir. "

"Damp, you call it, corporal? Why, he's dripping wet and chilled to thebone!" cried the doctor, feeling my pulse. "How did this come about, youngster?"

"It was an accident, sir, " I replied hesitatingly, not wishing toincriminate my messmates. "I would rather not speak of it, doctor, ifyou'll excuse me. "

"Oh, I see, skylarking, eh? Well, well, you must go to bed at once, oryou'll be in a high fever before sundown. Corporal Macan!"

"Yis, sor. "

"Take this young gentleman to the sick bay and put him into a clean cotwith plenty of blankets round him. By the way, too, corporal, ask DrMcGilpin to let you have a stiff glass of hot grog. "

"For mesilf, sor?"

"No, you rascal, confound your cheek! Certainly not, " replied thedoctor, amused by the question. "This young gentleman is to take it ashot as he can drink it. It will throw him into a perspiration and makehim sleep. Do you hear, youngster?"

"Y-es, sir, " I stammered out as well as I could, for my teeth werechattering again and I was shaking all over. "Bu-but I'd rather not goto the sick bay, sir, if you don't mind. I don't want anyone to hear ofwha--what has hap-hap-happened. "

"Ah, yes, I see, " said Dr Nettleby. "You're afraid of some of yournice messmates getting hauled over the coals? I bet that madcap Larkynsis at the bottom of it; I saw him with you close to one of the portsjust now, as I passed by on my way down here, and I wondered whatmischief you were up to! Well, well, I respect you, my boy, for nottelling tales out of school, as the old saying goes; so, I won't spliton you. Carry the youngster to my cabin, Macan, and then nobody willknow anything about the matter. See here, I will look after you myself, youngster and keep you a prisoner till you're all right again. Whatd'you think of that, now?"

"Th-a-nk you, doctor, " said I, faintly, for I felt very weak and giddy, everything seeming to be whirling round me. "I'll--"

"Yes, yes, I know; all right, my boy, all right, " interrupted thekind-hearted, old fellow, stopping any further attempt to speak on mypart; and the brawny corporal of marines at the same instant lifting meup in his arms as if I were a baby, I lost consciousness, the last thingI recollect hearing being the doctor's voice, sounding, though, far awayas if a mile off, like a voice in a dream, saying to me in the soft, purring tone he always adopted when in a specially good temper, "Here, drink this, my boy, and go to sleep!"

"Faith an' sure ye're awake at last!" exclaimed Corporal Macan when Iopened my eyes, a minute or so after this, as I thought. "How d'ye falenow, sor?"

"Hullo!" said I, raising my head and looking round me in astonishment. "Where am I?"

"In Dr Nittleby's own cabin, sure, " answered the Irishman, grinning;"an' by the same token, sor, as he wor called away by the cap'en, helift me here for to say, he tould me, whither ye wor di'd or aloive, sure, whin ye woke up. "

"I feel awfully hungry, Corporal Macan, " said I, after a pause toreflect on the situation. "Have I been asleep long?"

"Ivver since Siven Bells, sure, in the forenoon watch, sor. "

"And what's the time now?"

"Close on Four Bells in the first dog watch, sor. "

"Good gracious me!" I exclaimed in consternation, tossing off a lot ofblankets that lay on the top of me and jumping out of the big bunk thatwas like a sofa, where I had been sleeping, on to the deck of the cabin;when I found I was attired only in a long garment, which must have beenone of the doctor's nightshirts, for it reached down considerably belowmy feet, tripping me up on my trying to walk towards the door. "Whereare my clothes?"

"Here, sor, " replied the corporal, equal to the occasion, taking up abundle that was lying on one of the lockers and proceeding to spread outmy uniform, jacket and trousers and other articles of wearing apparelseriatim, on the top of the bed-place; Macan smoothing down each withthe palm of his hand as if he were grooming a horse. "I had 'em driedat the galley foire, sor, whilst ye wor a-slapin'. "

"Thank you, corporal, " I said, dressing as quickly as I could with hisassistance; the marine, like most of his class, being a handy, usefulfellow and not a bad valet on a pinch. "I must hurry up. I wonder if Ican get any dinner in the gunroom. "

"Faith ye're too late for that, sor, " answered Macan with much concern. "An' for tay, too, sor, as will. It's all cleared away this hour an'more. "

"Oh, dear, what shall I do?" I ejaculated as I dragged on my boots, which had not been improved by their dip in the sea and subsequentroasting on top of a hot iron stove, although I noticed they had beennicely polished by the corporal. "I feel hungry enough to `eat a horseand chase the rider, ' as I heard a fellow say the other day!"

"Ye must fale betther, sor, if you're hoongry, " observed Macan on mycompleting my toilet and donning my cap again. "That's a raal good signwhin ye're inclined fur to ate--at laste that's what the docther sez. "

"Providing you've got something to eat!" I rejoined ruefully, for Iknew there wouldn't be much left if the gunroom fellows had cleared out. "What did Doctor Nettleby say was the matter with me, eh?"

"He s'id ye wor a comet, sor. "

"A comet?" I repeated, laughing. "You're making a mistake, corporal. "

"The divil a ha'porth, sor. He called ye that same. "

"Nonsense, man!" I said. "The doctor made use of some medical term, probably, which you don't understand. "

"Mebbe, sor, for I'm no scholard, worse luck!" replied the corporal, unconvinced. "The docther do sometime bring out one of them outlandishwurrds that nayther the divvil nor Father Murphy, more power to him!could make out at all at all; but, whin ye dhropped down this afthernoonon the dick alongside o' yer chist, an' I picked ye up, he says, sez he, ye was ayther a `comet, ' or in a `comet house, ' or somethin' loike that, I'll take me oath wid me dyin' breath, though what the divvil he manes, I'm sure I can't say, sor!"

"Oh, I see now!" I exclaimed, a light suddenly flashing on me as to hismeaning. "I must have fainted away and the doctor told you I was in acomatose state, eh?"

"An' isn't that, sure, a comet, sor, as I tould ye!" cried the Irishman, triumphantly. "Hullo, here's Peters, the cap'en's stooard dodgin' aboutthe gangway. I wondther what he's afther?"

I walked out of the cabin as he spoke, and the man he referred to cameup to me at once. 

"Beg pardon, sir, " said he, civilly, touching his forelock in salute. "Mr Vernon, sir, I believe?"

"Yes, " I replied, rather anxious to learn what was wanted of me, "thatis my name. "

"Cap'en Farmer presents his compliments, sir, and requests the pleasureof your company to dinner this evening. "

"Give my compliments to the captain, and say that I shall be most happyto accept his kind invitation, " I answered, putting on my most dignifiedmanner, as if it was quite an everyday occurrence for me to be asked todinner by officers of the highest rank; though, I felt inclined to jumpwith joy at the prospect, especially under the circumstances of myfamished condition. "What time do you serve up dinner, steward?"

"We allers dines at Four Bells, sir, " said he, with equal dignity, conscious of his position apparently as captain's steward, and at thesame time not oblivious of the fact that I was only a naval cadet. "Inten minutes time, sir, dinner will be on the table. "

"All right, my man, I'll be there, " I replied in an off-hand way, as hewent on towards the wardroom, opposite to where we were standing; and Iadded aside to the corporal, "I don't think there's any fear of my beinglate!"

"Faith, the divil doubt ye, sor, " said Macan in reply to this, breakinginto a broad grin as he set to work methodically to put the doctor'scabin straight again, while I turned to go below to my proper quarters, with the intention of making myself smart for the forthcoming feast. "Musha, I wudn't loike to be the dish foreninst ye, sor, if ye can ate ahoss, as ye s'id jist now!"

A few minutes later, attired in my best uniform, I was ushered by themarine sentry, who stood without the doorway, into the big after-cabinbeneath the poop that served for Captain Farmer's reception-room. 

This was a handsome apartment, hung round with pictures and decoratedwith choice hothouse flowers and evergreens, as unlike as possibleanything one might expect to find on board ship. 

The very gun-carriages on either side were concealed by drapery, as wellas the windows at the further end which opened on to the stern gallery, that projected, like a balcony, over the shimmering sea beneath, whereonthe lights from the ports played and danced on the rippling tide in ahundred broken reflections, the evening having closed in and it nowbeing quite dark around. 

I was received very kindly by Captain Farmer. 

He was a short and rather stout man, so he looked uncommonly funny inhis mess jacket, which, according to the custom of the service, was cutin the Eton fashion and gave him a striking resemblance to an over-grownschoolboy, as I thought; but, I soon forgot his appearance, his mannerwas so charming, while his anxiety to set me at my ease seemed as greatas if I had been an admiral at the least, instead of being only littleJack Vernon, naval cadet!

The doctor was talking to him when I came in; and he spoke to me verycordially, too, feeling my pulse as he shook hands with me. 

"Ha! No fear of your kicking the bucket yet, my little friend, " he saidin his dry way, as we all proceeded into the fore cabin, where dinnerwas laid, Captain Farmer leading the way as soon as his steward Petersintimated that everything was ready. "No cold or fever after yoursudden chill, thanks to my prescription! But, I won't answer forconsumption after your long fast. I can see from your eye, youngster, you'll have a bad attack of that presently, eh? Ho, ho, ho!"

Of course I grinned at this; and, I may state at once, that, by the timethe repast was concluded, I had fully justified the doctor's sapientprediction, being blessed with the healthiest of appetites and a gooddigestion, which my temporary indisposition had in nowise impaired. 

Mr Cheffinch, our gunnery lieutenant, who was one of the other guests, sat beside me, and from a remark or two he made I discovered that notonly did he know of my adventure, but that the captain was alsocognisant with the circumstances of the case, although the facts had notbeen officially communicated to him and he was not supposed to be awareof what had happened. 

"He thinks you behaved very pluckily, youngster, " observed Mr Cheffinchin the most gracious way, when informing me of this. "Ay and so do weall in the wardroom, let me tell you!"

"I'm sure I don't know what I have done to deserve your praise, sir, "said I, feeling quite abashed by all these compliments. "It was all anaccident. "

"It is not so much what you did as what you didn't do, youngster, " hereplied, frankly enough. "You didn't show any funk or make a fuss whenyou fell overboard, and you did not wish to get your messmates into ascrape when Dr Nettleby--he told us this himself in confidence--foundout the state you were in and made inquiries. In so doing, you behavedlike a true sailor and a gentleman, and we're all proud to have such apromising brother officer amongst us, young Vernon, I assure you. Ifyou go on as you have begun, you'll be a credit to the service. "

Such a flattering eulogium made me blush like a peony, and I was veryglad when the captain presently proposed the toast of "The Queen, " whichwe drank, all standing. 

This being satisfactorily done, taking that hint from the doctor that Ihad "better turn in early and have a good night's rest after all theexertions I had gone through, " as a sort of reminder that they had seenenough of me for the occasion, I paid my adieux to the captain andcompany and went on deck, where I remained while the watch was beingcalled at Eight Bells. 

I need hardly add that, in this interval, I ruminated over the strangesuccession of events that had taken place within so short a period;events which, possibly, might make, as they just as probably might havemarred, my entire future career in the service--ay, and, perhaps, haveended it altogether, but for God's good providence!

CHAPTER TEN. 

"DEBTOR AND CREDITOR. "

For a couple of days longer, we were as busy as bees, taking in ourboats and spare spars and other gear, besides filling up our stock ofprovisions and water and completing with stores of all sorts; untilSaturday arrived, the last day of our stay at Spithead, when all ourpreparations were finished and all hands, likewise, paid their advanceof two months' pay, prior to our sailing for China. 

No one was allowed on shore that afternoon, for fear of desertion; but, to make amends for this stoppage of all leave, the men were grantedpermission generally to receive their friends on board, so as to get ridof all the loose cash they were debarred from spending in morelegitimate fashion on land. 

The consequence of this licence was, that the ship was crowded from stemto stern with strangers of every description, shape and sex, fromdinner-time to dusk; Jew and Gentile, kinsman and creditor, each and allalike in turn, having a final tug at poor Jack's purse-strings, strivingto ease him of his superfluous wealth before departure. 

As may readily be imagined, some queer customers came aboard; and somecurious scenes took place, both of the sentimental and comic order. 

One of these latter I especially noticed; for it occurred under my veryeyes, within earshot of where I was standing by the gangway. 

"Downy, " as the men called him, the whilom digger of graves, who had sopuzzled Commander Nesbitt on the first day of his joining, by giving hisprofession so peculiar a designation, had come on board without any sortof an outfit for the voyage. 

So, at last not being able to go ashore to buy a stock of clothes onreceiving his advance pay, the purser at that time not supplying themen, as is the custom nowadays, with what they required, the morosegentleman was obliged to have recourse to Poll Nash, one of the bumboatwomen, who had brought off a lot of "slop" clothing for those requiringa rig-out, and was selling the same on her own terms to all comers asquickly as she could dispose of her stock. 

To her, therefore, Master "Downy" now applied, having nothing beyond therather shabby suit of black in which he stood up, which was certainlysomewhat unsuitable, to say the least, for a sailor's wear, particularlya man-o'-war's man, as the once gravedigger had been transformed into. 

He had well-nigh fully invested, in this way, the entire amount he hadjust received from the purser, Mr Nipper, on account of his advance payas an "ordinary seaman, " that being his rating; when, I noticed, adark-faced, long-nosed gentleman come up to him and speak. 

The two then got into a violent altercation that speedily attractedeveryone's attention, a small crowd gathering round the disputants justabaft the mainmast. 

"I tell you I haven't a ha'penny left, " I heard "Downy" say, after a lotof words passing between them the gist of which I could not catch. "No, not a ha'penny left, I swear. I've paid it all to this good lady herefor clothes!"

"You haven't paid me for the monkey jacket yet, " interposed Mrs PollNash, the bumboat woman, who was holding up the garment in question, waiting for the coin to be passed over before parting with it, the goodlady having in her career learnt the wisdom of caution. "That'll makethree pun' seventeen-and-six in all. Now, look sharp, my joker, or I'llchuck the duds back into the wherry. I ain't a-going to wait all dayfor my money, I tell you!"

"I'll let you have it in a minute, " whined "Downy, " who was apparentlyafraid to show what he had in his pocket, the dark gentleman's eye beingupon him. "Can't you give a fellow time? I ain't a-going to run away. "

"Ye vood, ye liar, presshus shoon if ye 'ad arf a shance, I bet, s'helpme!" shouted out the other man, who, from his speech, was evidently aHebrew and a creditor. "Ye're von tarn sheet, dat's vot ye vas, abloomin' corpse swindler, vot sheets de living, s'help me, and rops zedead! I shpit upon ye, I does!"

"Come, come, you fellows there, I can't allow such language on boardthis ship, " sang out from the poop Lieutenant Jellaby, the officer ofthe watch, when matters had come to this pass. "Ship's corporal, bringthose men here!"

In obedience to this command, the two disputants were both brought aft, Poll Nash following also, being an interested party, to get back herclothes or the money from "Downy. "

The latter was at once recognised by Lieutenant Jellaby, a jolly fellow, in whose watch I was. He went by his Christian name of "Joe" amongst usall, being very good-natured and always full of fun and chaff. 

"Hullo!" he exclaimed. "You're the gravedigger, ain't you?"

"Yes, sir, " replied "Downy" sedately, as his original professionprobably inculcated. "That were my humble calling, sir. "

"Why did you give it up, eh?"

"Trade got slack, sir. "

"How was that?"

"Porchmouth's too healthy a place, sir, " answered the man, as grave as ajudge. "People won't die there fast enough, sir, for my trade; so I hadto turn it up, 'cause I couldn't make a decent living out of 'em. "

"By burying them, I suppose?"

"Yes, sir, " answered the man, seriously. "That is, when I were luckyenough to get a job. "

"Well, that's a rum start, a fellow complaining of not being able tomake a living out of the dead!" said Joe Jellaby to me, smiling; andthen, turning again to the man he continued, "now, tell me what all thisrow is about?"

Here the Jew, who introduced himself as the keeper of a lodging-house inPortsea, put in his word. 

"Dis shcoundrel vas owe me five blooming pounds, " he cried outexcitedly. "I vash keep him ven he vash shtarving; and now, ven he gotmoney, he von't shettle. He's a shvindler and a tief, s'help me; and Ishvear I'll have the law on him!"

"Why don't you pay this man if you owe him anything?" said thelieutenant, sharply, to "Downy. "

"You've received your advance money from the paymaster, have you not?"

"Yes, sir; but I'd better tell you the whole story, sir, " said theex-gravedigger. "I acknowledge owing Mister Isaacs some money, thoughhe's piled it on pretty thick, I must say; for I were four weeks out ofwork and had to board at his place. "

"Yes, s'help me, and ate and drank of the best, too. Oh, Father Moses, how he did eat!" interrupted his creditor. "Look you, sir, it's only amean shcoundrel that voud call a pound a week too much for good vittles. I'll put it thick on him, I will!"

"Stop that, or I'll have you turned out of the ship at once, " said MrJellaby, as the Jew made a dart at "Downy, " who dodged behind the marinesentry on the quarter-deck; while he repeated his injunction to thedefaulter. "Pay the man his money and let him go. "

"I can't, sir. I've expended all my money in buying clothes of thisgood lady here, " explained Downy, pointing to the fat, old bumboatwoman. "I hadn't a stitch to my back and had to get a rig-out for thevoyage, sir. "

"Yes, sir, he's 'ad three shirts, as is twelve-and-six, and cheap at theprice, too, sir, " corroborated Mistress Poll Nash, with a low curtsey tothe lieutenant. "Yes, sir, and two pair of trousers for thirtyshillin', besides a hoilskin and a serge jumper; and this monkey jackethere, sir, which makes three pun' seventeen-and-six, sir. "

"Well, well, I suppose the calculation is all right, " said Joe, laughingat her volubility and the queer way in which she bobbed a curtseybetween each item of her catalogue. Then, addressing poor "Downy" hecried out curtly, "Turn out your pockets!"

The ex-gravedigger sadly produced four sovereigns. 

"Is that all the money you've got?"

"Yes, sir, " replied "Downy, " in a still more sepulchral tone. "Everyha'penny. "

"Then, pay this woman here, for you must have a rig-out for the voyage, "said the lieutenant. "I'm afraid, Mr Isaacs, you'll have to wait tillyour debtor returns from China for the settlement of your claim. Yourfriend, the gravedigger here, will then probably have lots of loot; and, be better able to discharge his debt. "

"Ach, holy Moses!" cried the Jew, refusing with spluttering indignationthe half-a-crown change "Downy" received from Polly Nash, and which hehanded to his other creditor with great gravity as an instalment of hisclaim. "He vill nevaire gome back to bay me. "

"Oh yes he will, " said Joe Jellaby, chaffingly, "and probably, he'llbury you, too, for joy at seeing your pleasant face again--all for love, my man. "

Mr Isaacs, however, got furious at this and used such abusive languageboth to "Downy" and the lieutenant that the latter gave orders at lastfor him to be shown over the side. 

This order was instantly carried out by the ship's corporal, with theassistance of the master-at-arms, who had now arrived on the scene, whenthe incident terminated; but we could hear the Jew still cursing andswearing, and calling on his patron saint, Father Moses, for a longwhile after, as he was being rowed ashore. 

Shortly before evening quarters, all strangers were ordered also to goashore; and, later on, the captain came off, bringing word that we wereto sail early the following morning. 

I heard him tell Commander Nesbitt that he had better begin shorteningin cable at daylight, so that we might weigh anchor immediately afterbreakfast. 

"Very good, sir, " the commander replied. "But who is this with you, sir--another youngster?"

"Yes; he's Admiral Mills's son, " said Captain Farmer, much to mydelight, for I had not noticed my old friend, Master Tom, who was thevery last fellow I expected to see. "I have taken him to oblige hisfather, though he hasn't quite completed his time on board the_Illustrious_. "

"Oh, he won't lose anything by that, " rejoined Commander Nesbitt, whodid not have a very high opinion of my old training-ship, as I havealready pointed out; and, just then, seeing me standing by, he said, "Take this young gentleman down to the gunroom, Vernon, and make himcomfortable. I suppose you are already acquainted, both of you comingfrom the same ship?"

"Oh yes, sir, " I answered glibly enough, overjoyed at having littleTommy Mills as a messmate once more. "He and I are old chums, sir. "

"Indeed? Then there's no need for my introducing you, " said thecommander, with his genial laugh, which it was quite a pleasure to hearsometimes, it put one so much at one's ease. "Mind though, youngster, not too much skylarking when you get below. We don't want any more ofthat overboard business on board here, you know. "

Of course I sniggered at this, understanding the allusion; but, naturally, Tom was not in the secret, and I had a good deal to tell himwhen I got him below. 

The two of us took our seats on one of the lockers in a quiet corner ofthe gunroom and had such a very long chat, that we were only interruptedby Larkyns flinging a boot at us at Four Bells, calling out that it washigh time for us to turn in to our hammocks. 

He wanted to go to sleep he told us; for he would have to go on deck totake the middle watch at midnight, which was as close-handy as the boothe had sent at our heads to remind us!

This set us both giggling, which brought the companion boot to ourcorner, where it thumped against the bulkhead, grazing little Tom's noseand making him sniff. 

However, this second missile had the desired end of sending us off; andso we left Master Larkyns to enjoy his repose undisturbed any longer byour chatter. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN. 

"SHORTENING IN CABLE. "

"Rouse out, port watch and idlers! Rouse out! rouse out!" hoarselyshouted out the boatswain's mates along the lower deck; and this call, mingled with the shrill piping wail of their whistles and the tramp ofhurrying feet as the men straggled up the hatchway to stow theirhammocks in the nettings above, awoke me from my slumbers next morningin the dreary semi-darkness of the so-called daylight. 

I was so tired and sleepy that I was hardly half-roused even by all thisuproar. Indeed, I was just dropping off again, when Dick Andrews, oneof my fellow cadets from the training-ship, who had joined the_Candahar_ the same time as myself and was rather a bumptious andoverbearing sort of chap, shook me violently. 

"Turn out, you lazy lubber, turn out, " he shouted. "It's long pastEight Bells, and old Bitpin, who has taken Joe Jellaby's watch and islooking after the men scrubbing decks, has been asking for you. He's ina fine temper this morning, Master John Vernon, I can tell you; so, you'd better look sharp, my lad, or you'll `catch Tommy' when he seesyou. "

"Oh, bother!" I cried, with a yawn that nearly dislocated my jaw, shoving a leg over the side of my hammock lazily enough, loth to leavemy snug, warm nest for the cold, uncomfortable quarter-deck, where Iknew there would be a lot of water sluicing about and the menholystoning, to make it more unpleasant. "I wish you wouldn't call menames, Andrews! You're not so awfully smart at rousing out yourself, that you can afford to brag about it! Why, Larkyns had to drag youround the gunroom last night in your nightshirt before he could make youwake up. "

"Larkyns is a bully!" exclaimed Andrews, angrily. "He's a mean, cowardly bully!"

"Is he, my joker?" said that identical individual, whose approach wasunnoticed by either of us, catching his slanderer a crack on the headwhich sent him spinning. "There, take that in proof of your statement!If I'm a bully, Mr Andrews, I must act as such, or you'll call me aliar next!"

"I was only joking, " snivelled Dick, picking himself up and rubbing hischeek ruefully. "I didn't mean anything. "

"Neither did I, " replied Larkyns, drily, as he peeled off his jacket andthe thick woollen comforter he had wrapped round his neck to keep outthe chilly night air, and prepared to turn in after his watch on deck soas to have a nice snooze before breakfast. "I only gave you a strikingproof of my devoted friendship for you, old chappie, that's all!"

With which parting words, he dexterously jumped into his hammock, rolling himself up like a worm in the blankets within; and, such was thefacility of habit, I declare he was snoring like a grampus ere I hadcompleted my dressing, although I scrambled into my clothes as quicklyas I could, and hurried out of the steerage. 

I left Dick Andrews still rubbing his cheek disconsolately and mutteringimpotent threats against his now unconscious assailant; but, he didn'tdo this until he was certain Larkyns could not hear good wishes on hisbehalf!

On going up the hatchway, I found all hands busy scrubbing and washingdown the decks, which were in a precious mess. 

There was a fair division of labour in carrying out the operation, thetopmen and after-guard scouring the planks with sand; after which thedecks were flushed fore and aft with floods of water pumped up by the"idlers. "

Those are really a most useful and industrious class of misnamed menconsisting of the carpenters, sailmakers, coopers, blacksmiths and otherartificers, besides the cook's mates and yeomen of stores. 

In our ship the lot numbered no less than some seventy in all, who everymorning assisted in this praiseworthy task!

Creeping up as quietly as I could and trying to avoid observation fromthe squinting eye of Mr Bitpin, our fourth lieutenant, who was theoldest in seniority although he occupied such a subordinate position, Imade my way to the side of Ned Anstruther, the midshipman of the watch, who stood on the weather side of the quarter-deck on a coil of rope soas to keep his feet out of the way of the water that was swishing round. 

Ned nodded me a greeting; and, I fancied myself safe, when in an instantmy presence was noted by the lieutenant, who turned on me. 

"Hullo, youngster!" he called out, looking down from the break of thepoop, whence he had been surveying operations, finding fault with themen beneath in quick succession, according to his general wont, andhaving a snap and a snarl at everyone. His temper, never a good oneoriginally, had been soured by a bad digestion and ill luck in the wayof promotion, the poor beggar having been passed over repeatedly by menyounger than himself. "How is it you were not here when the watch wasmustered?"

"I'm very sorry, sir, " said I, apologetically. "I overslept myself, sir. "

"Oh, indeed? You'd better not be late again when I'm officer of thewatch, or I'll have you spread-eagled in the mizzen rigging as a warningto others, like they nail up crows against a barn door ashore. That'llmake you sharper next time, my joker! Do you hear me, youngster?"

"Yes, sir, " said I, touching my cap. "I hear you, sir. "

"Very well, then. Mind you heed as well as hear!" he repliedsnappishly, rather disappointed, I thought, at my making no furtheranswer, or trying to argue the point with him. "You can go down now tothe wardroom steward and tell him to get me a cup of coffee as quicklyas he can. Now, don't be a month of Sundays about it! Say it must behot and strong, and not like that dish-water he brought me yesterday;or, I'll put him in the list and stop his grog! Do you hear me?"

"Yes, sir, " I said respectfully as before, giving no occasion foroffence so as to come in for more grumbling on his part. "I hear you, sir. "

"Confound that youngster, I can't catch him anyhow!" I heard him mutterto himself as if uttering his thoughts aloud, as I turned away withanother touch of my cap and left the quarter-deck to fulfil my errand. "He's like those monkeys at the Rock--too artful to speak. Keeps histripping lines too taut for that!"

He was quite right; for, three weeks' association on board, though I hadbeen brought little in contact with him, had taught me to know hischaracter pretty well. I had learnt that the best way to get on withMr Bitpin was, to let him do all the talking and only to answer himwhen necessity required. 

It was advisable also that the reply should be made in the fewest wordspossible, such a course giving him no ground for further complaint. 

When I returned, some few minutes later, with the desired refreshmentfor the lieutenant, which I brought up myself, thus saving the wardroomsteward, who was a very decent fellow, a probable wigging besidesgetting a cup of coffee myself as a bonus for performing the service, Ifound the decks swabbed and almost dry; the ropes, too, were all coiledand flemished down handsomely, and everything around looking as neat asa new pin. 

Mr Bitpin, also, was in a better humour, a sip of the smoking coffee, which apparently was just to his taste, adding to his content at thescrubbing operations having been accomplished to his satisfaction. 

"Thank you, my boy, for bringing this, " he said, with a smack of hislips as he took a good long gulp of the grateful fluid, giving anapproving nod to me. "That lazy steward would have taken half-an-hourat least if you had left it to him. When I'm as young as you are, I'lldo as much for you. "

I grinned at this, as did Ned Anstruther, who likewise winked in aknowing way to me behind Mr Bitpin's broad back; but, before I couldreply to the lieutenant's complimentary speech, Commander Nesbitt madehis appearance on the poop, having come up the after-hatchway and goneinto and out of the captain's cabin again, without either of us seeinghim. 

"Ah, good morning, Mr Bitpin, " he said, looking somewhat surprised atseeing that gentleman there. "I thought Mr Jellaby had the morningwatch to-day?"

"So he had, sir, " answered the lieutenant, hastily putting down hisempty cup under the binnacle out of sight of the commander, who he knewdisliked anything out of order on deck. "But, sir, Mr Jellaby was lateoff last night from the admiral's ball, and he begged me to take theduty for him. It is a great nuisance; for, I only turned in at TwoBells in the middle watch, myself. Of course, though, I couldn't bedisobliging, you know, sir. "

"Of course not, Mr Bitpin, " said Commander Nesbitt, amused at thisunexpected piece of good nature from one who very seldom put himself outfor anybody. "It does not matter in the least; but, I told Jellaby Iwished to shorten in cable as soon as the decks were washed down. "

"He didn't tell me anything about that, sir, when he came on board thismorning; for I met him at the gangway, " growled out the crustylieutenant in his usual surly way. "He was full of some Miss Thingamy'sdancing and made me sick by telling me at least twenty times over what a`chawming gurl' she was!"

"No doubt of that. He's a rare chap amongst the ladies, is our friendJellaby!" said Commander Nesbitt laughing at Mr Bitpin's imitation ofJoe's favourite expression. "We must see now, though, about shorteningin without any further delay, for time's getting on. "

"Very good, sir, " replied the lieutenant, dropping his unwontedjocularity and relapsing into his matter-of-fact official manner. "I'dbetter go on the fo'c's'le and join Mr Morgan, the mate of the watch, who's already there. "

"Thank you, Mr Bitpin, " briefly said the commander by way of dismissal;and then, bending over the poop-rail, he called out, "Bosun's mate!Pipe all hands to shorten cable!"

"Ay, ay, sir, " answered the petty officer addressed, putting his whistleto his mouth and blowing a shrill, ear-piercing call that echoed throughthe ship and was taken up by his brother mates below on the main andlower decks, whose voices could be heard, in every key, gruffly shoutingout fore and aft, until the sound gradually died away in the distantrecesses of the hold, "All hands, shorten cable!"

Immediately, as if touched by an enchanter's wand, the quiet that hadreigned on board since the decks had been washed down disappeared, andall was bustle and apparent confusion; although, it need hardly be said, order was paramount everywhere. 

Such, indeed, is always on board a man-of-war, where each man knows hisplace and takes care to be in it as quickly as he can; especially when"all hands" are called as in the present instance. 

In this case, as now, all the crew turn out and come on deck to theirstations, whether it be their watch below or not. 

Up, therefore, tumbled the men of the starboard watch, who had only beenrelieved from duty an hour before, at the same time I was first rousedout by the obliging Dick Andrews. 

After the men, but a little more leisurely, came the other officers notalready on deck. 

Amongst these were, the Honourable Digby Lanyard, our swell firstlieutenant, eyeglass in eye as usual, and dressed as neatly as if goingto divisions, although he had only such very short notice for histoilet; Joe Jellaby, the proper officer of my watch, whose place MrBitpin had taken for the nonce, rubbing his eyes and only half awakefrom his dreams of "that chawming gurl" at the admiral's ball; CharleyGilham, our third lieutenant, a manly, blue-eyed sailor and fond of hisprofession, but no bookworm and bad at head-work; Mr Cheffinch, or"Gunnery Jack" as he was styled; the three other mates; and, all themiddies and cadets, including Larkyns. 

The latter was wroth at his ante-prandial snooze being so suddenly cutshort; while Andrews, who followed in his rear, was savage at meetinghis late antagonist so soon again, his friendly feelings towards whomwere not increased by the foot of Larkyns giving him a "lift" up thehatchway as the pair scrambled on deck together, the cadet, unfortunately for himself, being a trifle ahead of the midshipman. 

The first lieutenant, or "glass-eye" as the men called him, went out atonce on the forecastle, where a number of the hands, under thesuperintendence of Mr Hawser, the boatswain, were already engagedrigging the fish davit and overhauling the anchor gear, with Mr Bitpinand Morgan looking on to see that everything was done properly. 

"Charley" Gilham, and "Gunnery Jack, " stopped down on the main deck tolook after the capstan, which was soon surrounded by a squad of"jollies" under the command of one of the marine officers, LieutenantWagstaff, a fellow as tall as a maypole and with a headpiece of verysimilar material!

Mr Jellaby, however, not knowing where his deputy, Mr Bitpin, mightbe, came up on the quarter-deck; but he had no sooner appeared therethan the commander despatched him to another station. 

"Please go down at once to the lower deck, Mr Jellaby, " said he, oncatching sight of him. "I want you to attend to the working of thecables. See how smart you can be with those new hands we have from theforetop!"

"Very good, sir, " replied "Joe, " all on the alert in an instant. "Iwill go down directly. "

Away he accordingly went; whereupon, I, having nothing special to do, and seeing everyone else appointed to some station or other, was justscuttling down the hatchway after him when the Commander called me back. 

"Stop here, Mr Vernon, " he cried. "I want you to act as my messengeragain. Try if you can be as useful as the one they have to bring in thecable with. I suppose you know what sort of `messenger' that is, eh?"

"Oh, yes, sir, " I replied glibly enough. "It is a species of endlesschain, passing round the base of the capstan amidships, and through astationary block called a `controller' on the forepart of the lowerdeck, to which the cable is attached by nippers as it comes through thehawse-hole inboard; and, as the capstan is hove round, the messengerdrags the cable up, the nippers being released and taken forward againto get a fresh grip, while the slack of the cable passes down the deckpipes into the cable lockers below, sir. "

"Very well answered, youngster, " said Commander Nesbitt, approvingly, when I had reeled off this long yarn. "But, I think, it's about timefor Mr Jellaby to give us the signal for heaving round now. "

He liked things done smartly, did the commander, for he knew how theyshould be done; and, being prompt and ready in his own actions, judgedothers by himself. 

Barely five minutes had elapsed since "all hands" had been piped, and inthat interval the cable had to be unbitted and the "slip" stopping it tothe deck knocked off by the blacksmith. 

In addition to this, the messenger had to be brought up to the unbittedend and the nippers gripped on before those working the capstan on themain deck above could commence heaving round in order to "bring in theshekels, like unto the Israelites of old and the Hebrews of the presentday, " as Master Larkyns explained to me later; and yet, the commandergrew impatient at the delay, in spite of all this having to be done insuch a short space of time. 

But, at last, the signal was given. 

"Heave round!" snouted Mr Jellaby from the extreme fore-end of thelower deck, where he had been bustling up the topmen and seeing to themessenger being properly attached to the cable. 

"Heave round, " also cried Sylvester, one of the midshipmen with him. 

"Heave round, " repeated the boatswain's mate further aft; while hisfellow mates stationed along the hatchways above passed on the cry, tillit reached the commander on the poop, who in his full-toned voice nowtransformed what was merely a signal that all was ready into an order. 

This gave the required impetus to the working party on the main deck, who were waiting for this order, really to "Heave round!"

At once, the drummer and bugler, in attendance on the eager marines andafter-guard, struck up with fife and drum the festive strains of "JudyCalaghan, " which Corporal Macan said "did his sowl good to hear, faith!"

Then, the bars having been previously shipped by Mr Cleete, thecarpenter and his crew, round tramped the "jollies, " round went thecapstan; and, with it, the messenger, the endless chain of which, revolving slowly, hauled the cable foot by foot inboard, the "lengths"dropping down the deck pipes out of the way as the slack was releasedfrom the messenger, and the nippers passed forwards again; and so on, over and over again!

I had ample opportunity for noticing this, the commander sending me onanother errand down to the scene of operations almost as soon as thedrumming and fifing began. This was much to my delight; for I enjoyedthe strains of the jolly air played as much as Corporal Macan, as wellas the steady tramp of the marines and after-guard round the capstan, the men stamping on the deck in time to the music, as if they wouldsmash through the planking. 

"Go and tell Mr Jellaby, " said he, "to shorten in to two shackles. "

"Ay, ay, sir. "

With which response to Commander Nesbitt's order, I sprang down theafter-hatchway on to the main deck, proceeding thence below to where old"Joe" and his topmen were working. 

Of course I gave the lieutenant the mandate with which I had beencharged; but I remaining, boylike, to watch what was going on, thecommander not having told me to return immediately, though I ought tohave done so. 

The capstan, however, was spun round so merrily by the marines while thenippers, in the hands of the active seamen, passed so freely; that, ereI knew how far the task had progressed, so as to be able to report tothe commander the state of things, Mr Jellaby suddenly sang out"Belay!"

Instantly, the word being passed by the boatswain's mates as before, sothat the order reached the lieutenant in charge of the working party atthe capstan above almost as soon as Mr Jellaby sang out from the lowerdeck forward, the music stopped suddenly, as if the drummer and fiferhad both been shot on the spot. 

With it, too, ceased the monotonous tramp, tramp, tramp of the men aboveour heads, which sounded through the thickness of the deck like a bandof Ethiopian minstrels dancing a flap dance and marching "round themulberry bush" afterwards, to "show their muscle, " as is the wont ofthese negro "entertainers, " so-called!

"You may go up now to the commander, " said Mr Jellaby to me, as apolite hint to be off, "and tell him that the second shackle's justinside our hawse. "

"Very good, sir, " I replied, moving away as the blacksmith went to putthe slip on the cable to secure it from running out until we were readyto weigh anchor later on. "I'll tell him at once, sir. "

"All right, " said Commander Nesbitt, when I reached the poop andrepeated Mr Jellaby's message, the import of which he already knew fromthe stoppage of all movement below, and the report of the boatswain fromthe forecastle that the anchor was "a short stay apeak"; when, advancingto the rail, he called out in a louder key, "Bosun's mate, pipe thehands to breakfast!"

CHAPTER TWELVE. 

BELOW IN THE GUNROOM. 

"Well!" exclaimed little Tommy Mills, a little later, when he and I, with young Morgan, the mate and Ned Anstruther, on being relieved by thestarboard watch, all went down to the gunroom and sat down to have ourbreakfast, "I call this a beastly shame. "

"Hullo, " said Popplethorne, one of the other middies, looking up fromthe plate on which he was busily engaged; while several other fellows, similarly employed ceased operations likewise, staring at Tommy inastonishment. "What's up?"

"Nothing's up, but everything seems down, " replied my little chum in anaggrieved tone. "I don't see a crumb left for a poor, hungry chap; nobloaters, no marmalade, no nothing. When I was in the _Illustrious_, ifthey did grind a fellow a bit, one always had something decent to eat, at all events!"

"First come, first served, " mumbled Phil Plumper, the senior mate of ourwatch, who had his mouth full and was tucking in some species of"burgoo, " or porridge with much gusto. He was an awfully fat fellow andlooked just like a boiled lobster bursting out of its shell, for thebuttons of his jacket were continually carrying away at odd moments. "If you don't look out for yourself on board ship you'll find nobody 'lllook after you; and, you'll come off _minus_!"

"That'll never be your case, " retorted Tommy, with a snigger. "Judgingby appearances, I should say your condition represents a _plus_quantity!"

"Beg pardon, sir, " apologised Dobbs, the gunroom steward, who from hiscomical little screwed-up eyes and manner must have been first cousin tomy old friend the waiter at the "Keppel's Head, " noticing the disdainfulexpression with which Tommy Mills continued to glance round the emptytable, seeking in vain something appetising in the way of food for hishungry eye to rest upon, --"Beg pardon, sir, but the bumboat woman didn'tcome off this morning. Sunday, you know, sir. "

"That's all gammon, steward, " said Master Tommy, still looking abouthere and there and finding nothing but a desert of empty dishes anddirty plates. "You ought to have sent one of the ship's boats ashore ifyou didn't have enough on board for everybody in the mess. Our stewardin the _Illustrious_ always kept a good look out and sent himself forthem when the things were not brought off in time. Why didn't you dothe same?"

"I'm sure I'm werry sorry, sir, " answered Dobbs, humbly, awed by the wayin which little Tommy spoke to him; for my old comrade, I noticed, hadlost none of his cheek since our separation, and now put on the air of apost captain at the least. "Begging y'r pardon, sir, but getting ashorefrom Spithead, with a northerly wind a-blowin', ain't quite so easy aslanding from Point and you're moored over against Blockhouse Fort!"

"That may be, but it's none of my business, " said young Mills, loftily, waiving Dobbs's plea aside as a mere trivial matter. "I want somebreakfast. What have you at all fit for a christian to eat? I seenothing here, nothing at all. "

"Got some werry nice cold 'am, sir, in my pantry, " cried Dobbs, witheffusion, at this opening, glad of having something he could offer. "Shall I cut you a plate o' that, sir--just try a wee bit off theknuckle end, sir?"

"All right, if there is nothing else, but I suppose it will be all boneand gristle, or as hard as a cat-block, " replied Tommy; heaving a mostportentous sigh of disappointment, though winking slily to me to showthat he was only `putting all this on' to astonish the other fellows, who were gazing at him with open mouths in wonder at his assurance andgrand seigneur manner. "You may get me a couple of eggs, also, whileyou're about it, steward. Mind they're fresh and have no chickens inthem; I don't like poultry in the morning so early!"

Of course there was a loud guffaw at this, the three purser's clerks, who were eating bread and butter at the lower end of the table, notdaring to put in a word of objection to the fare, seeming to enjoy thejoke mightily. 

Not so, however, Dobbs. 

"Werry sorry, sir, but there's no heggs, " he replied to this somewhatimperative order from Master Tommy, looking absolutely crestfallen athaving thus to confess the shortcomings of his commissariat. "Thecaterer of the mess, sir, forgot to horder 'em, sir. "

"No eggs!" cried Tommy, in the tone of tragic denunciation which Ciceromight have used when exposing the iniquities of Cataline. "This isreally impardonable!"

"Never mind, sir, " hastily whispered Dobbs, holding out a gleam of hope, as he thought, "we'll get some at Plymouth as soon as we anchor in theSound, sir. You shall get some there, sir, never you fear, sir. "

"Plymouth? Why, I may lose the number of my mess myself long before Iever reach there!" said Tommy, contemptuously. "A caterer who forgetsto provide eggs for the mess ought to be keel-hauled! Who _is_ thecaterer, steward?"

"Mr Stormcock, sir. "

"Oh, indeed! Stormcock, eh?" repeated little Mills, making me chokewith suppressed laughter. "Then you can tell Mister Stormcock, with mycompliments, that unless he looks after the mess catering better, he'llprecious soon find himself in foul weather with me!"

"Highty, tighty, my young bantam!" cried out the gentleman in question, the master's mate, a thick-set, full-grown fellow, old enough to beTommy's father, who happened to be stretched at full length on one ofthe lockers at the further end of the gunroom, and was roused from hisnap on hearing his name mentioned. "You seem to have a prettyconsiderable stock of impudence of your own for so young a shaver, andcrow so loudly you must want to have your comb cut, I think!"

"Not to-day, thank you, sir, all the same, " answered Master Tommy, demurely, but with a grimace that made us all laugh. "If I'm a shaver, of course I can cut it myself, can't I?"

"Hang me, but you _are_ a cheeky young beggar, the cheekiest we have onboard, I think, and that's saying a good deal!" ejaculated the other, utterly dumbfounded at his effrontery. "What are you rowing the poorsteward about, eh?"

"Nothing--only I thought we might have had a better spread for breakfastthan I see on the table as we're not yet at sea, that's all!"

"Oh, that's all, is it, young gentleman?" cried the master's mate, notliking to hear his catering criticised so frankly. "I'm sorry youdidn't let us know we had a lord coming aboard; for, if we had heard intime, we'd have hired a French cook and laid in every delicacy you coulddesire. By jingo! when I was a youngster and joined my ship for thefirst time, I remember, I was glad enough to get a mouthful of salt junkand hard tack, without any of your bloaters and marmalade and foreignkickshaws--ay, and thought myself doocid lucky, I can tell you, if Ididn't get a thrashing from one of the oldsters in the mess, if Igrumbled, to make me relish my grub the better. Things are coming to apretty pass nowadays for a young jackanapes to growl about his vittlesand call his seniors to account!"

"Pardon me, sir, but my name is Tom Mills, not `Jack Napes, '" said mycheeky chum, with meek subservience; and, turning then to Dobbs, hecalled out, "a cup of tea, please, steward, with plenty of milk in it. "

"Werry sorry, sir, but there ain't no milk, " replied Dobbs, still moreapologetically, at this further demand which he was unable to supply, asif he grieved from his inmost heart thereat. "Mr Jones 'as 'ad thewerry last drop, sir. "

"We'll send ashore for a cow for you, Master Impudence, " put in MrStormcock, ironically, before Tom could say anything. "Just wait a bitfor your breakfast till we can get it off. Dobbs, you know the sort ofcow the young gentleman wants--one with an iron tail!"

"Did I ever tell you that yarn about a cow we had on board the _Duke_, eh?" observed a tall gentleman with long whiskers, regular "weepers" ofthe Dundreary type, who was seated on another locker at the after end ofthe gunroom, right opposite to the irascible master's mate. "I mean thecow old Charley Napier took with him in his flagship when we went up theBaltic?"

"Good Lord! Jones, don't get your jaw tacks aboard now, " cried MrStormcock, as I pricked up my ears on hearing the name of Sir CharlesNapier, Dad's old captain. "We've heard that yarn of yours three timesat least since we started fitting out; and, I'm hanged if it'll standtelling again!"

"Oh, very well, then, " said the whiskered gentleman in a displeasedtone. He wore a plain undress sort of uniform, I noticed, and Dobbs, the steward, told me he was the paymaster's assistant and kept theship's books; though, he messed in the gunroom with all the midshipmenand cadets, like the master's mate, both of them seeming to my mind fartoo old to associate on such a footing with a parcel of boys likeourselves. "I may as well spare my breath to cool my porridge! Iassure you, Mr Stormcock, I have no wish to bore you. "

"Do tell us about the cow, sir, " I interposed anxiously, afraid he wouldnot continue his story. "I have often heard Dad, I mean my father, speak about Admiral Napier; and, I saw him myself when I was in Londonlast summer. It was he who got me my nomination for a cadetship. "

"Ah, then you know what a queer old customer he is?" went on Mr Jones, evidently mollified by the interest I took in his yarn. "It isn't muchof a story, as Mr Stormcock appears to think; but, if you care to hearit, I'll tell you all about it. "

"I do care, sir, " I replied, "very much indeed, sir. "

"Well, then, youngster, " he proceeded, "the Baltic fleet was lying atSpithead, where we mustered, you must know, before sailing up the NorthSea; and one fine day, when we were about to weigh anchor for the Queento review us as she passed us in the royal yacht, up comes the dockyardtug alongside, with `Sally, ' that was the admiral's daughter, bringingalong with her the old ship's cow and pigeons and a lot of other stockhe had ordered from his place t'other side of Portsdown Hill on the roadto Petersfield, `Merchiston Hall, ' I think he called it, or some otherScotch name sounding like that. "

"Oh, yes, " put in Mr Stormcock, satirically--"I recollect it all quitewell. Heave ahead, my hearty!"

The assistant-paymaster, however, took no notice whatever of theinterruption, pursuing the even tenor of his narrative. 

"The admiral had the cow and stock taken in; but just as his daughterSally was coming across the gangway, he ordered her back, for the royalyacht was now coming up. `Stop where you are, Sally!' he shouted outfrom the poop. `Stop, Sally, stop!' bawling out the words so loudlythat you could have heard him in Common Hard, for he had a powerful pairof lungs had Old Charley, and could raise his voice above a gale. Almost in the same breath, too, he sang out to the wives and friends ofthe sailors who had come out from Portsmouth to wish them good-bye, `Now, all you women and people there! go aboard the tug with my darter, and when Her Majesty has passed you may come back again. ' Of course, they all cleared out at once, the master-at-arms and his corporalsassisting them over the side; but when they were all comfortably landedon board the tug, she steamed off right away for the harbour, with along string of wherries and shore boats pulling like blue niggers afterher, the men in them swearing like anything at being cheated of theirfares. We all the while were getting up anchor and in another minute ortwo were under weigh. Captain Gordon, who was the admiral's flagcaptain, spoke to him about the poor watermen and bumboat women beingrobbed of their money by our starting so suddenly; but he could get nosatisfaction from old Charley. `Bumboat women be hanged!' was all hesaid. `Let 'em take their payment out of the fore tops'l, and the maintopgallant s'l shall be witness to the bargain!' With that, he ordersthe men, who were muttering to be piped down. "

"But the cow, sir, " said I, on the paymaster's assistant thus coming toa conclusion, without alluding to what I considered the principal pointof his story. "You haven't told us yet about that, sir. "

"Oh, yes, I forgot, " said he. "It was a fine beast, I remember, one ofthe red Alderney breed. Well, this cow was first stowed away in a penthe admiral had rigged up for her on the starboard side of the maindeck, forrud; but on the gunner objecting to the mess the animal madethere, she was then shifted to the port side, in the middle of the messdeck of the foretopmen. Here, too, she was found such a nuisance thatthe hands in a very short time determined to get rid of her as quicklyas they could, either by fair means or foul; and, of course, theymanaged this right enough. Let sailors alone for that!"

"But, how did they manage it, sir?" asked Tommy Mills, who appeared totake as much interest in the narrative as myself. "Did they kill her, or chuck her overboard?"

"They did neither directly; but, indirectly, I may say they did both, "answered Mr Jones, enigmatically, smiling and pulling his long whiskerscaressingly through his fingers, as if particularly proud of thesehirsute adornments. "The fact was, the unprincipled scoundrels gave heralternately buckets full of dry biscuit-dust and water which so inflatedthe poor beast that she became the size of a balloon in less than aweek; and, if she had not through this been suffocated, she would ofcourse have burst from the `abnormal expansion!' That is how ourdoctor, old Nettleby, the same we've got on board here now, described itto the admiral when he was sent to inspect the cow, when the butcherreported her dead. "

"What did the admiral say, sir, when he heard this?"

"Oh, he stormed and let fly a volley of picturesque language, " repliedMr Jones to this inquiry of mine; "but what could he do? `Throw herout of the bow port, ' he said to the gunner, who pitched a yarn about itbeing the foretopmen who had done the fell deed. `I don't know whetherits your foretopmen or maintop-men that are to be blamed for it, and Idon't care; but, you've stopped my milk between you, and I'm hanged if Idon't stop your grog!'"

"And did he, sir?" asked little Tom Mills. "Did he stop their grog forit?"

"No, " replied Mr Jones. "He was too good-natured an old chap forthat. "

"More than you were half-an-hour ago, " observed Mr Stormcock, sarcastically, rising up from his recumbent position. "You didn't thinkof the fellows coming down from their watch on deck, when you drainedoff the last remains of the milk, eh? Yes, my joker, you left thischeeky youngster here to go without any in his tea, making him think ofhome and his mammy! yes, all through your selfishness. "

"Now, really, Stormcock, " expostulated the paymaster, "upon my word Ididn't think of that, or I wouldn't have been so greedy. Really, now, upon my honour!"

Just then, the boatswain's call was heard ringing through the ship, andthe drummers began beating to quarters, which made us all jump up. 

"By jingo, I wonder what's in the wind now!" exclaimed Mr Stormcock, making a grab at his sword-belt, which he had unfastened for comfortafter his breakfast, laying it alongside him on the locker while takinghis snooze. "It's always `All hands, ' or `Quarters, ' or the `FireBell, ' or something! I was just thinking of going into my cabin andhaving a fair lay off the land till noon, for there's nothing for me todo on deck; when here comes this hanged rattle of the drum, confound it, to upset my caulk. A fellow can't call his soul his own aboard ship--asailor's life's a dog's life, by jingo!"

CHAPTER THIRTEEN. 

THE CHAPLAIN MAKES A MISTAKE, AND WE MAKE SAIL. 

"Ah! my little friend, here you are, I see, in your proper place, " saidCommander Nesbitt kindly to me, on my ranging myself by his side on thepoop, where he was standing with the captain; for, being his specialmessenger, or aide-de-camp, so to speak, although it was not really mywatch on deck again till late in the afternoon, I thought on hearing thedrummer beat to quarters that I ought to go to him at once. "Every manto his station is the rule on board ship. That is only how order anddiscipline can be carried out with such a large company to deal with!"

I could see, too, that this rule was observed to the very letter, forthe first lieutenant was already on the forecastle, eyeglass in eye, ofcourse, as usual; while Mr Bitpin was on the quarter-deck, just belowthe break of the poop; and "Joe" Jellaby on the main deck, close to thehatchway, so as to be within easy hail. 

Mr Cheffinch, the gunnery lieutenant, and Charley Gilham, in theirturn, were on the lower deck, looking after things there, with all themates and midshipmen and cadets, each at his allotted post and everyoneequipped with sword or dirk buckled on ready for instant action. 

Mr Triggs, the gunner, likewise had taken the keys of the magazine fromtheir proper resting-place when not wanted for use, just without thedoor of the captain's cabin, where a sentry always stood guard overthem; and was now prepared with all his staff of "powder-monkeys" tosend up whatever ammunition might be required at a moment's notice. 

The carpenter, too, stood by the pumps, and Dr Nettleby, with MrMacgilpin and Mr Leech, the two assistant-surgeons, had all thecontents of their surgical cases--most murderous-looking instrumentsthey were, too--spread out on the wardroom and gunroom tables, as wellas plenty of lint and bandages for dressing; while Corporal Macan, witha working party of marines, were told off to act as stretcher bearers, and supply hospital aid to the imaginary wounded. 

The remainder of the "jollies" were drawn up in martial array on theafter part of the poop, under the command of Captain Targetts andLieutenants Wagstaff and Shunter of the same serviceable corps; all ofthe men spick and span in their full regimentals and appearing as smartas if on the parade ground at Forton; although, but a few minutespreviously, most of the poor fellows had been washing plates and messtraps, and performing other menial duties below. 

Young as I was, I could not help observing all this, and noting, as thecommander had pointed out to me, how, thanks to a rigid discipline andthe inexorable regularity, almost like that of a machine, with which theroutine of duty is conducted on board a man-of-war, every officer andman, from the captain down to the smallest "powder-monkey, " was in hisproper place and at his station before the rat-tat-tat of the drum hadceased reverberating fore and aft; albeit, most of the hands had onlyrecently joined the ship, while some, indeed, had never before been tosea. 

Of course, there was a good deal of scurrying to and fro and apparentconfusion whilst the men were getting to their stations, the hastytrampling of feet along the decks and the scrambling up of hatchways, some snatching their rifles from the arm racks and belting on theircutlasses as they hurried by, slinging their cartridge pouches overtheir shoulders at the run; and, meanwhile, Commander Nesbitt, with myinsignificant self by his side, remained at the end of the poop-rail, taking in everything that went on with his quick-glancing, watchful eye, waiting quietly till all the preparations were complete. 

"Bosun's mate!" he sang out when all were ready. "Pipe the hands tosecure the guns for sea!"

This was a sad come down from all the grand things which some new to thegame expected; but, as we all learnt within a very short time of ournovitiate, life at sea is a series of surprises, and, if the rulingmaxim be "To hear is to obey, " carried out with Draconian severity tothe extreme letter of the law, the beauty of it lies in the fact thatyou never know what you _are_ going to hear until you actually hear it. 

The captain, is, it must be remembered, a sort of Delphic oracle of themarine genus, who invariably keeps his mystic intentions locked withinthe secret recesses of his own breast and only gives them utterance, when the occasion arrives for him to speak, through the lips of hischief augur, the commander. 

None of "the profane vulgar, " in the shape of the ship's company, knowwhat will be the next move on the board until he gives the inspiredword; although, if unguessed until finally uttered, it is generallyshort, sharp and to the point!

That word being now given, needless to add, it was immediately actedupon. 

The breechings of the guns on each deck were bowsed up and the sidetackle falls hove taut and frapped, with preventer tackles rigged andsecured round the brackets at the after part of the carriages and hookedto the ring-bolts in the ship's side; all the guns' crews assisting inthis task, and the marines and idlers tailing on to the falls andhauling away at the sound of the boatswain's pipe and only stoppingpulling at the order being given "Avast heaving!"

When passing round with the commander presently to see if all the gunshad been properly made fast, so that there should be no chance of their"taking charge" in a heavy seaway and running themselves out withoutleave or licence when we least expected it, I overheard "Joe" Jellabytalking to Charley Gilham, who had now come up from the lower deck andwas standing by the main hatchway. 

"I say, Charley, " observed Mr Jellaby, "have you seen our `sky pilot'yet?"

"No, `Joe, '" replied the other. "He didn't come into the wardroom tillafter dinner, and I had to go on deck for the first watch, and so didn'tsee him. "

"Well, he's the greenest chaplain I ever saw on board ship before, " wenton "Joe, " with a chuckle of merriment. "He's been dodging in and out ofhis cabin since One Bell sounded, with all his pulpit rig on, as if hedidn't know what exactly to do with himself and was afraid to askanyone. "

"Perhaps he thought the bell rang for church, " suggested Mr Gilham. "One of the fellows told me the parson has never been to sea before; so, my boy, of course, he doesn't know he's got to wait till the cap'engives the order for service to be held. Those shore Johnnies have got alot to be knocked into them! He doesn't know Farmer as we do, or he'dfight shy of taking a liberty with him!"

"Fancy, though, his skylarking round, in all his war paint, " said "Joe, "breaking into his jovial laugh, which always made me join in forsympathy. "I shouldn't wonder if he belonged to what they call thechurch militant; and on hearing the drummer beat to quarters, henaturally thought he ought to be prepared with his spiritual weapons aswe were buckling on our arms, eh? By Jove, there he is now coming outof the wardroom right up to us! I say, Charley, stand by me, like agood chap. "

But, Mr Gilham, thought in this instance that "discretion was thebetter part of valour, " for he gave poor "Joe" the slip by incontinentlybolting up the hatchway, leaving his comrade to encounter alone thechaplain, who the next moment, in full canonicals, surplice and hood andcassock and all, confronted him. 

He was a slim, sandy-coloured gentleman, I noticed, with hair of thetint of tow. He had also white eyelashes, and spoke in a thin, hesitating voice, with a timid manner, as if very nervous and uncertainof his footing. 

"A-hem, " he began, with a slight affected cough of introduction. "Ibe--believe I'm addressing Mr --?"

"Jellaby is my name, sir, " said the lieutenant, filling up the hiatus inhis speech and bowing politely. "Joe Jellaby, at your service. Isthere anything I can do for you, Mr --?"

"Smythe, sir, is my name, " replied the other. "I am the ah--chaplain. "

"So I see, sir, " said Joe, drily, glancing at his canonicals. "Glad tohave the pleasure of making your acquaintance, Mr Smith. "

"`Smythe, ' that is `Smith' with a final `e, ' if you please, " correctedthe reverend gentleman in a plaintive tone. "My name is not `Smith, 'Mr Jellyboy. "

"Nor is mine Jellyboy, Mr Smythe, " retorted "Joe, " laughing outright atthe comical situation. "We've both made a mistake, Mr Smythe; and Iapologise for mine. But, is there anything I can do for you, sir?"

"Well, " hesitated the other, "I want, you know, to hold a service, youknow--ah, and--"

"You'll have to ask the captain after divisions, sir, " put in "Joe"anxious to close the interview, for the drums had begun to beat theRetreat for the men to return their arms. "Excuse me, though, please, Mr Smythe, I've got to go on deck now. "

With that he vanished up the hatchway after Mr Gilham; and, thereuponthe unhappy Mr Smythe found himself, with his "final e, " in the midstof a seething mass of men racing along the deck to put their rifles andcutlasses back in the racks, being finally compelled to beat a retreathimself to the wardroom, while the boatswain and his mates were pipingand shouting all over the ship for the hands to clean themselves anddress for "Divisions. "

A quarter-of-an-hour later, both watches were mustered, all decentlydressed, like "Sally in our Alley, " in their Sunday best, according totheir respective stations; the first and second divisions on the upperdeck and forecastle, under the first lieutenant and Mr Jellaby; thethird and fourth divisions on the main deck, with Mr Gilham and MrBitpin at the head of the men; and the fifth and sixth on the lowerdeck, in charge of "Gunnery Jack, " in lieu of one of the regularlieutenants, and the second mate, the fat Plumper, bursting out of hisbuttons as usual, who was at the head of the after-guard, among whom Irecognised the ex-gravedigger, "Downy. "

This worthy, I noticed, looked quite smart and seaman-like in thedungaree suit he had purchased from Mrs Poll Nash, the bumboat woman, which his messmates had taught him to rig up in proper man-o'-warfashion, the good-hearted chaps also supplying whatever othernecessaries were required for his wardrobe, such as the black silkhandkerchief, tied in a loose knot round his neck, and the knife andlanyard without which no bluejacket's toilet is complete. 

The men were drawn up in line, two deep, in open order, ready forinspection, and the captain and commander were just about descendingfrom the poop to go round the ranks; when, up came the Reverend MrSmythe on the quarter-deck in his complete clerical regalia, only nowwith his college cap on, which, when I had seen him before by the mainhatchway, he had carried in his hand. 

He now raised this in salute to the captain and then immediatelyreplaced it, seeing that none of us were uncovered, all of us having ourcaps on of course, being in uniform. 

Captain Farmer only gave the regulation touch to the peak of his inreturn for the chaplain's courtesy. 

"Well, sir, " said Captain Farmer in his direct way, as Mr Smythestruggled to speak, feeling that the eyes of all hands were upon him, blushing a rosy red up to the roots of his sandy hair, "what is it?"

"Am I--ah--to begin now, sir, " he stammered; "or, wa--wa--wait till thebell rings again, sir?"

"Bell rings!" repeated the captain, abruptly. "For what, sir?"

"For service, sir. "

"Service?" said Captain Farmer, in a questioning tone still. "I'vegiven no orders about any service to-day. There's no time for it now. We're going to weigh anchor in another minute or two. "

"Weigh the anchor, sir!" exclaimed Mr Smythe, in a voice of holyindignation, losing all his hesitancy and awkwardness of speech. "Why, it is Sunday!"

"The better the day, the better the deed, " rejoined the captain, rathersternly, I thought. "If you overhaul your Bible you'll find it was onlythe Pharisees who objected to any necessary work being done on theSabbath, and I myself see nothing wrong in our sailing on this day if wehave a fair wind, Sunday though it be; besides which, I am obeying theorders of my queen and country. "

"But, sir, " cried Mr Smythe, flushing up again, though now more fromthe heat of argument than from the feeling of bashfulness which at firstoppressed him, "it is my duty to celebrate divine service, and mybishop--"

"Mr Smythe, I'm bishop here; and, as commanding officer, my word islaw, " interrupted Captain Farmer. "The next time you may desire to holdservice on board this ship, please be good enough to ask my permissionfirst; for, remember, my rule is paramount here over matters spiritualas well as things temporal. No doubt you have erred through ignorancein trying to set your authority against mine, and I'll not dwell furtheron the matter. I am sorry there'll be no time to-day for you to holdany regular service, for I am now going to inspect the men at divisions;but, after that, you may have a short prayer, if you like, before wemake sail. "

The Reverend Mr Smythe, I was glad to notice, took this rebuke indignified silence, standing aside on the quarter-deck while the captainand commander descended the poop-ladder and went their rounds. 

He waited until they had passed forwards before he went down theafter-hatchway to the main deck; where, on the completion of theinspection, all hands were mustered and he read the form of prayerenjoined by the rubric for those about to travel by sea, which waslistened to more attentively perhaps than it is in any church ashore. 

Sailors, however, watch as well as pray; so, no sooner had the chaplainfinished than his congregation dispersed instantly to their stations, the commander singing out from the poop, the moment he had reached thatcoign of vantage, the long-delayed but welcome order, for which we hadall been waiting in expectancy since the morning. 

"Hands, up anchor!" he cried in a brave shout, to which the boatswain onthe forecastle gave a shrill response with his whistle, while his matesre-echoed the cry between decks, up and down the ship fore and aft, "Allhands, up anchor!"

The capstan was again manned below, and the marines and idlers heaved inthe cable to the sound of the drum and fife, as before; although, thistime, the tune was "The Girl I Left Behind Me, " the tramp of their feetcoming in every now and again as a sort of chorus to the music, while onthe forecastle above, the boatswain overhauled the catfalls, and got upthe up and down tackle, and the gunner's crew rigged out the fish davitwith its gear. 

"The cable's `up and down, ' sir, " presently reported the boatswain to"glass-eye, " our first lieutenant, who passed the word aft in the usualmanner to the commander on the poop. "Cable's up and down, sir!"

The merry sound of the drum and fife, and steady tramp of the men roundthe capstan on the main deck continued until, anon, the boatswain onceagain reported to the Honourable Digby Lanyard, as he stood surveyingthe progress made in heaving in from the knight heads, "Anchor'sweighed, sir. "

This implied that the heavy mass of metal, of some four tons weight, bywhich we had been moored, was now off the ground, a fact that increasedthe strain on the cable and messenger, taking a longer and a strongerpull out of those working the capstan, and making the nippers, too, passa trifle less briskly than before. 

"Anchor's in sight, sir, and a clear anchor, too!" was the next cry fromthe forecastle that went from hand to hand aft, causing `The Girl I LeftBehind Me' to come out stronger than previously and the tramping feet tohasten their measured tread; and, in another minute or so, the ring ofthe anchor was chock up to the hawse pipe at the bows, and the boatswainpiped "Belay!"

"Hands make sail!" next came from the commander aft, the midshipmenstationed in the tops jumping into the rigging and scrambling up theratlines before he could shout "Way aloft!"

In an instant, up started the topmen in pursuit, as it seemed, of themiddies in a sort of `follow my leader' chase; and ere the vibration ofthe commander's voice had ceased to tremble in the air, the activefellows were spread out along the footropes of the yards, loosing thelanyards of the gaskets and casting them off, while the deck-men let gothe buntlines and clewlines and other running gear. 

"All ready for letting fall, sir, " the middy stationed in the foretopwas the first to sing out. This was Dick Popplethorne, a smart lad, whoprompted the topmen under his charge to emulate his ready example, so asto get ahead of the others. Larkyns at the maintop was a good second, while Adams at the mizzen was the last; the officer of the watch, onhearing his hail, reporting "All ready!"

"Let fall and sheet home!" thereupon shouted out Commander Nesbitt, withthe captain standing behind, as it were, to "back him up, " followingthis order with another warning hail--"Topsail halliards!"

Our topsails and courses were at once spread; and, then, the men on deckstood by the halliards, hoisting the yards up as soon as the word ofcommand reached them from the commander with his next breath "Hoistaway!"

The wind was blowing steadily from the northward and westward as theyards were braced up, and the _Candahar_ payed off handsomely on theport tack with the tide, making for the Warner Lightship to theeastwards; and, as we trimmed sails and bore away from our whilomanchorage in the roadstead, the breeze brought out to us the silverychimes of the bells of old Saint Thomas', ringing the good people tochurch while we stood out to sea. 

There was a clear blue sky overhead and the bright sun mellowed thefrosty feel of the air, lighting up the blue water around us, as weploughed our way through the dancing wavelets; our noble ship curvettingand prancing along, similar to some gallant charger tossing its head andshowing off its paces, throwing up the spray over her forecastle whenshe dipped deeper than usual and leaving a long wake behind her, like alady's fan, all sprinkled over with pearls, stretching back to Spithead, now far away astern. 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN. 

DOWN CHANNEL. 

Meanwhile, the first lieutenant and boatswain were busy forward with theforecastle hands, seeing to the catting and fishing of the anchor; and, as soon as our port bower was properly secured by the aid of the catheadstopper and shank painter, the courses, which were all ready to letfall, were dropped and sheeted home, topgallants and royals spread, andthe jib and foretopmast staysail set, as well as the spanker aft, theold _Candahar_ being presently under a cloud of canvas alow and aloft, and slowly but surely making an offing and reaching out to sea. 

We continued on the same tack until we had weathered the Nab Lightship, some ten miles out, when, being favoured with a "sojer's wind, " fairboth ways, we trimmed sails again and braced the yards up, wearing shipand gradually altering course from a nearly due east direction to one"west-half-south, " fetching a compass down Channel. 

We passed on our starboard hand within easy cannon shot of the Isle ofWight, whose bold, projecting headlands and curving bays of white andyellow sand we opened in turn every minute, with their purple hillsbeyond and deep-shadowed valleys lit up ever and anon by a gleam ofsunshine as we sailed gaily on; the blue sky above our heads seeming inthe clear atmosphere to recede further and further back into theimmensity of space as we proceeded while the blue water around us becamebluer and, more intense in tone, except where here and there the crestof a breaking wave flecked it with foam. 

At Seven Bells, when the watch was set, we had given the snub-nosedDunose the go-by and were heading for Saint Catherine's Point, goingabout eight knots under all plain sail, the wind freshening as we drewaway from under the lee of the land, and the ship getting livelier. 

Just as I was looking over the side and noting this fact, while watchingthe gull's circling in our wake, uttering their plaintive screams atintervals that sounded like the ghost cries of drowned sailors buriedbeneath the sea, Mr Quadrant, the master, who was on the poop, sextantin hand, reported it was twelve o'clock; whereupon, the commandertelling him to "make it so, " Eight Bells was struck, the men being pipedto dinner immediately afterwards in obedience to another order fromheadquarters aft. 

Not being wanted any longer on deck, and the crisp, bracing sea airgiving me a good appetite, I hurried down the hatchway to join mymessmates in the gunroom, mindful by my morning's experiences of thedisadvantage of being late for meals. 

Quick as I was, I found the majority of the other fellows not on dutyhad already forestalled me, chief among these early birds being my chum, Tom Mills. 

This young gentleman, all in his glory, was lording it over poor Dobb's, the long-suffering steward, at a fine rate, I noticed, making MrStormcock waxy with his remarks about the fare. 

This, really, was not at all bad in quality nor scanty in quantity, asthe irate master's mate asseverated with considerable heat. 

It was much better, indeed, than most of us youngsters had probably beenaccustomed to when at school in our longshore days, no matter how wemight growl and turn up our noses at it now; but, cocksy Master Tommy, of course, was incorrigible, treating such an innuendo as this, in spiteof the loud voice and pointed manner of Mr Stormcock, with the contemptit deserved, the young rascal grinning and sticking his tongue in hischeek in so provocative a fashion that the master's mate instantlypitched a hot potato at him. 

This caught Mr Fortescue Jones, the unoffending assistant-paymaster, inthe eye, and made all the purser's clerks yell with laughter. 

When I went on deck again, shortly after Three Bells, we were prettywell clear of the Isle of Wight, the Needles Rocks being off our weatherquarter and some miles distant, with the Dorset coast looming ahead. 

As I stood listening to the quartermaster instructing the helmsmen, oneof whom was a young hand, telling them to keep the ship a couple ofpoints free, until, as time went on, it came close to the next hour, twoo'clock, or Four Bells; when, according to the routine of the service, Adams, who was midshipman of the watch, hove the log and reported thatwe were still only going eight knots, with the ebb tide in our favour. 

At that moment, Captain Farmer came out of his cabin; and, hearing this, directed the officer of the watch, Mr Bitpin, whose rightful turn ofduty it was, to set studding sails, not being satisfied, apparently, with the old _Candahar's_ progress, although she was doing her best andsurging along in grand style, as I thought. 

"Bosun's mate!" thereupon sang out the lieutenant. "Pipe watch to setstarboard topmast and to'gallant stu'ns'ls!"

"Ay, ay, sir, " replied the boatswain's mate from his post by theafter-hatchway; and, almost in the same breath, his piercing shrillwhistle was heard, followed by his hoarse shout repeating Mr Bitpin'sgruff command. "Watch set starboard topmast and to'gallant stu'ns'ls!"

"Topmen aloft!"

"Jiggers at the tops'l lifts!"

"Clear away stu'ns'l gear!"

These successive orders were now jerked out in rapid rotation by MrBitpin, who stood at the poop-rail bellowing away like a wild bull, Captain Farmer remaining alongside him and surveying with critical eyeall that was done as the hands scrambled up the rigging and bustledabout the deck, casting off ropes and getting the booms prepared; until, anon, the captains of the fore and maintops and the captain of theforecastle, as well as the gunner's mate, whose task it was to see tothe main topmast studding sail, reported "All ready!"

Therefore the lieutenant, with a deeper bellow than before, shouted"Sway away!"

In an instant, the watch on deck, bending on to the halliards with awill, hoisted the gleaming white sails aloft and sheeted them home;when, bellying out before the northerly breeze, they expanded theirfolds, making the yardarms creak again, and looking like the wings ofsome gigantic seabird, the ship herself bearing out the resemblance andswooping away in a heavy lurch to leeward, after apparently preening herpinions for a fresh flight, being now a perfect pyramid of canvas fromtruck to deck. 

"Mr Adams, " called out Mr Bitpin presently from the poop, evidently inobedience to some quiet order given by the captain, to the midshipman, who of course stood immediately below his superior officer on thequarter-deck, "heave the log again and tell me what she's going now!"

"Very good, sir, " replied Frank Adams; and, after the necessary intervalof heaving the log-ship over the side to leeward and counting the knotson the line while the fourteen-second glass held by the quartermasterwas running out, he sang out "She's going nearly ten, sir. "

"Ah!" muttered Captain Farmer, who had come down the poop-ladder and waswaiting for the news before returning to his cabin, as he passed themarine sentry before disappearing within the sliding door, expressinghis thoughts aloud, "That's better, much better--I thought she could doit with this wind!" It was a beautiful afternoon; and, from its beingSunday, several of the wardroom officers came on deck after luncheon, having nothing especial to do below. 

Amongst the lot were Dr Nettleby and Mr Nipper, the paymaster. 

I also observed on the poop the Reverend Mr Smythe and "Joe" Jellaby, who had contrived to secure sufficient snoozing, during the odd momentswhen he was off duty since the morning, to make up for the sleep he hadlost by going to the admiral's ball and there meeting the witching houriof his dreams, "that chawming gurl, " who had subsequently prevented himfrom taking his proper rest when he came aboard in the small hours ofthe middle watch. 

The chaplain seemed to have taken a fancy to "Joe, " for he stuck on tohim as soon as he came up the hatchway; joining with some considerabledifficulty in the lieutenant's constitutional "quarter-deck walk. " Thereverend gentleman had not got his sea legs yet, and did not find it aneasy matter to keep step, or indeed keep his footing sometimes. 

This was more especially the case when the ship heeled over every nowand again before the force of the wind and then righted herself on aneven keel without warning, throwing Mr Smythe off his balance andcausing him to clutch frantically at _Joe's_ arm for support till herecovered his lost centre of gravity. 

The lieutenant's courtesy was put to a severe test in making himpreserve _his_ gravity; albeit, he had an itching inclination to burstout into his jovial laugh at the reverend gentleman's ridiculouscontortions and praiseworthy attempts to sustain a sort of disjointedconversation between the pauses of his grotesque sprawls and restorationto a more dignified attitude. 

As they were marching up and down the deck in this desultory way, describing the while a series of irregular ellipses, Six Bells wasstruck forwards, and the marine stationed by the taffrail at onceshouted out in a high key, "Life-buoy!"

"Dear me!" exclaimed Mr Smythe in a shrill tone of alarm, which hissqueaky voice was well calculated to express, bringing up suddenlyagainst one of the quarter boats which was swung inboard from thedavits; and knocking his head violently against the bottom planking, through the ship lurching as he stopped. "What has happened--is anyonelost overboard?"

"Oh, no, " replied "Joe, " laughing as usual. "It's only the jolly incharge of the life-buoy. He has to sing out every time the bell isstruck to show that he's at his post, just as the sojers ashore onsentry-go cry `All's well!' to tell their sergeant they're not napping, that's all. "

"Ah!" ejaculated the chaplain with a feeble smile, putting his hand tohis head as if in great pain from the blow he had received, "I see--ah, I see. "

"I hope you haven't hurt yourself, " said "Joe, " seeing that the otherkept his white cambric handkerchief still tightly pressed to hisforehead. "That was a rather nasty knock you got! Cut yourself, eh?"

"I--I--don't quite know, you know, " answered the reverend gentleman, removing the handkerchief after some hesitation and proceeding toexamine it carefully as if fearing the worst; but, finding now no traceof blood on its snowy surface, he became reassured and said, in a morecheery tone, "no, not cut, I think, only a severe contusion, thank you, Mr Jellaby. The pain has nearly gone now!"

"That's right; I'm glad you've escaped so well, " said "Joe, " taking MrSmythe's arm again and wheeling him in line so as to resume their walk;while I stood by, with my ears cocked, listening to the detachedfragments of their talk. "On board my last ship, the _Blanche_, we hada rum start one day with our life-buoy sentry. Would you like me totell you the story?"

"Thanks, much, " responded the chaplain; "I should be delighted. "

"Well, you see, " began the lieutenant, starting off with his yarn andquarter-deck walk again simultaneously, "we had a lot of raw marine ladswho had just enlisted sent us from Forton to complete our complement;and, one of these green hands, as luck would have it, was placed assentry on the poop by the sergeant of the guard, the first day he cameaboard, though he'd probably never seen a ship in his life before. Yousee, eh?"

"Ah!" ejaculated the chaplain as "Joe" turned abruptly when close up tothe taffrail and nearly twisted him off his legs. "Yes, I--ah--see. "

"When the poor jolly was put on sentry, " continued the lieutenant, bolstering up Mr Smythe with his arm and just saving him in the nick oftime from coming to grief again over a ringbolt on the deck, "thesergeant told him he would have to call out when the bell was struck, thinking, of course, he knew all about it. The poor fellow, though, asyou are aware, was quite ignorant of the custom; so, as soon as thesergeant's back was turned, he asked one of the men of the starboardwatch standing by, `What am I to call out when they strike the bell?'

"`Life-buoy!' replied the other. `Life-buoy!'

"`All right, chummy, I thank you kindly, ' said the young marine, full ofgratitude; and so, when, by-and-by, Two Bells were struck, he called outin a voice that could be heard all over the ship, `Live boy!'"

"He--he--he!" chuckled the chaplain in his feeble way, he and MrJellaby coming to a stop, I was glad to see, close to where I stood. "That was funny! Very, very funny!"

"Nothing to what's coming, " went on Mr Jellaby, pleased that hisefforts at comic narrative under such difficulties had been so farsuccessful, the chaplain not objecting to the secular amusement from anyconscientious scruples. "Well, as soon as the ignorant chaw-bacon chapyelled out this, which naturally made everyone who heard it laugh, although they put the mistake down to the poor fellow's provincialpronunciation, he turns to the man who had previously instructed him andasks in a proud sort of way, as if seeking praise for his performance, `Say, how did I sing out that, chum?'

"`Very well, ' replied the other, who, if he had advised him in goodfaith in the first instance, on now seeing the result of his teachingwas anxious to take a rise out of the `stupid jolly, ' as he thought him. `But, chummy, you'll have to do different next time. '

"`Oh!' exclaimed the marine. `What shall I have to sing out, then?'

"`You called "Live boy" at Two Bells; and so it'll be "Dead boy" when itstrikes Three Bells. It's always turn and turn about aboard ship. '

"`Yes, that's fair enough and I thank you kindly, ' answered the poormarine, sucking in the other's gammon like milk, not perceiving for amoment that the sailor was `pulling his leg'; and, the next time thebell sounded, as sure as we both stand here, if you'll believe me, MrSmythe, the silly donkey shouted out, even louder than he had donebefore, at the very pitch of his voice, `Dead boy. '"

"He, he, he!" cackled Mr Smythe again, while Dick Popplethorne, who hadjoined me by the taffrail and was intently listening like myself to"Joe's" yarn, burst out in a regular guffaw, which he had to choke hisfist into his mouth to suppress; for, any such violent expression ofmerriment was totally at variance with the discipline of a man-of-warand had to be checked at once for the good of the service! "But, what--ah, happened, Mr Jellaby, to the poor fellow, eh?"

"Why, the officer of the watch sent for the sergeant of the guard with afile of marines, and put the man under arrest for being drunk andmutinous!"

"You don't--ah, mean to say he was punished?"

"No, " replied "Joe, " with a wink to us. "He certainly was brought up onthe quarter-deck before the captain, who had heard his queer shout, aseverybody did, indeed, who was on deck at the time; but, the bluejacketwho had misled him came forward at the last moment and got him releasedfrom chokey, our captain, who was a good-tempered chap and enjoyed ajoke, letting them both off, although he read 'em a lecture and had tobite his lip the while he spoke of the heinousness of their jointoffence, he being hardly able to speak seriously!"

"Ah, I see, " said the Reverend Mr Smythe approvingly, though in a veryfaint tone, walking off towards the poop-ladder with the lieutenant'said, having evidently had enough of the ship's rolling. He expressed awish to seek the seclusion of his own cabin, whereat I was notsurprised, both Dick Popplethorne and myself having observed his faceassume a greenish-yellowy-liver sort of look during the last few momentsof "Joe's" narrative; but he kept up his courage to the last, murmuringyet more faintly as he tottered below. "Ve-wy good--ah! Ye-es, ve-wygood--ah, indeed!"

"Funny, wasn't it?" said Dick Popplethorne to me as the two turned away, laughing again, only more quietly now. "What a rum start for him tosing out, `dead boy!'"

I thought so, too--afterwards. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN. 

OFF USHANT. 

At Eight Bells, or four o'clock in the ordinary parlance of landsmen, Mr Bitpin was relieved by the first lieutenant, who then came on deckwith the rest of the starboard watch to take charge, while the portwatch went below at the same time. 

This hour marked the beginning of the first dog watch, which, it may behere mentioned for the benefit of the uninitiated, only lasts two hours, from four o'clock to six, when the second dog watch, of similarduration, commences and continues until eight o'clock, or "Eight Bells, "again. 

These subdivisions of time are necessary on board ship in order to allowall to share alike the rough with the smooth, and give the officers andmen a change at regular intervals from day to night service, and thereverse; for, if all the watches were of equal length, there could notbe any possible variation of the hours during which the hands would beon and off duty respectively, the one section of the crew in such casecoming on deck at precisely the same time each day and going below insimilar rotation. 

By the system in vogue, however, of cutting one of the watches into twoparts, which is common to the seamen of all countries in the mercantilemarine and is not merely limited to the routine of our men-of-war, thereis a constant change introduced; so that, the men who take, say, thefirst watch to-night, from eight o'clock till midnight, will have themiddle watch to-morrow night, and so on in regular sequence until thetime comes round again for them to "return to their old love" again!

"Glass-eye, " as the men called the first lieutenant, I noticed, was amuch smarter hand than Mr Bitpin, in spite of his drawly way ofspeaking and lackadaisical airs below; and when he was officer of thewatch there was no lolling about the deck or any of the talking thatwent on behind the boats and in odd corners, as was the case while "oldgrowler" had charge. 

Everyone then, on the contrary, brightened up and kept to his station;while even the old quartermaster and helmsman drawing themselves up at"attention" as soon as the Honourable Digby Lanyard's long, telescopicform appeared on the poop, just as if he were the commander, or CaptainFarmer himself. 

The Honourable was not long inactive, for the sun was already beginningto sink below the western horizon, lighting up Saint Alban's Head, abreast of which we were now speeding along, with a bright glare thatdisplayed every detail of its steep escarpment and the rocky foreshoreat its base; the glorious orb of day presently disappearing beneath theocean, leaving a track of radiance behind him across the watery wasteand flooding the heavens overhead with a harmony of vivid colouring inwhich every tint of the rainbow was represented--crimson and purple andgold, melting into rose, that paled again into the most delicate sea--green and finally became merged in the more neutral tones of night!

"Looks like a change coming, I think, " observed Mr Quadrant, themaster, glancing at the sunset more with the eye of a meteorologist thanthat of an artist. "Those northerly winds never last long in theChannel, especially at this time of year. "

"The evening's closing in, too, " said the "first luff, " screwing hiseyeglass more tightly into the corner of his eye and bending his lankybody over the poop-rail to see if everything was all right on the deckbelow, after taking a hurried squint aloft. "I shall shorten sail atonce. Bosun's mate!"

You should have heard him roar out this hail. Why, it made me jump offmy feet as if a cannon had been fired, with a full charge, close to myhead!

"Ay, ay, sir, " replied the boatswain's mate, coming under the break ofthe poop, so as to be nearer at hand; but there was certainly nonecessity for his approaching in order to hear better, for thelieutenant's voice would have been audible a mile off, "I'm here, sir. "

"Pipe the watch to shorten sail!"

"Ay, ay, sir. "

There was no need, though, of pipe or shout from the worthy pettyofficer addressed, notwithstanding that the lusty seaman could havepiped and shouted with the best, should duty demand it of him; for, thelieutenant's order had already reached the ears of every man of thewatch, and all were at their several stations, ready for the nextcommand. 

This was not long-delayed. 

"Topmen aloft! In royals and to'gallant stu'ns'ls!" he bellowed, in atone that put that of poor Mr Bitpin completely into the shade; hisvoice sounding as if the wild bull which that gentleman had apparentlyimitated, according to the facetious Larkyns, had since been under theinstruction of Signor Lablache or some other distinguished bass singerand had learnt to mellow his roar into a deeper tone. No sooner, too, had the hands jumped into the rigging and the studdingsail halliards andtacks been cast off by the watch on deck and the downhauls and sheetsmanned, than the "first luff, " pitching his voice to yet a higher key, sang out in rapid sequence, "Topmast stu'ns'l downhaul--haul taut--clewup--all down!"

"Bosun's mate, " he then cried, "turn the hands up!"

This was the last order he gave on his own responsibility; for, whilethe men of the watch below were hurrying up on deck in obedience to thebusy boatswain's mates' whistle and shout of "all ha-a-nds, " which couldstill be heard ringing through the ship, Commander Nesbitt came up onthe poop and took charge. 

He thus superseded his subordinate, the lieutenant; it being the customof the service for the commander to "carry on" on such occasions and theofficer of the watch, whoever he might be, to "play second fiddle, " asthe saying goes, which part the "first luff, " took in the presentinstance, proceeding at once to his proper station on the forecastle. 

No cessation occurred, however, in the task of shortening sail. 

"Hands reef tops'ls!" shouted the commander almost on the instant hegained the poop, following this up by the command, "Topmen aloft--takein one reef--way aloft!"

Of course Adams and Larkyns and Popplethorne had to scramble up to theirposts in the mizzen and main and foretops, much to my admiration andenvy; for, being only a cadet, I was not allowed to go aloft except fordrill, and then only under special supervision, as I will presentlytell. 

While these lucky beggars, as I then thought them, were footing it upthe ratlines, the commander sang out in rapid rotation, the ordersnecessary to make the way clear for taking in the reef required--

"Weather topsail braces--round in--lower the tops'ls!"

"Trice up and lay out!"

By these being acted on, the wind was first "spilled" out of the threetopsails, which were then lowered on the caps; and, the studdingsailbooms being triced up to their usual place when not set, in the topmostrigging, the men were able to go out on the yards and commence reefingin earnest. 

On the completion of this, the command was given to hoist away;whereupon the halliards were manned below and the topsails run up again. 

"Trim sails!" sang out Commander Nesbitt as soon as he saw the middiesand their men coming down from aloft. "Lee braces--brace up the yards!"

During all this time, though, the wind had been shifting to the westwardand ahead; and, noticing the jib beginning to shiver and flap, thecommander came to the fore again. 

"Brace the mainyard sharp up!" he shouted; when, on the seamen at thebitts reporting that "the mark" was "down, " or, in other words, that theyard had been braced up as far as it would go, the other yards weretrimmed parallel and the active commander cried, "Belay the main brace!"

"By jingo, I think he might say `splice the main brace' now, after allthis jollification!" growled Mr Stormcock, who had come up on thequarter-deck while the ship was thus being made snug for the night andleft now under easy sail, consisting of the courses with reefed topsailsand topgallants, as well as the jib and spanker and foretopmaststaysail. "The poor fellows must be precious dry with all that cuttingabout up and down the ratlines, and I wouldn't mind a glass of grogmyself. "

"No, really, you don't mean that!" said Larkyns chaffingly. "Wouldn'tyou prefer a cup of tea, now?"

"Cup of tea be hanged!" rejoined the master's mate, angrily. "Youyoungsters of the present day are always thinking of your tea, like alot of blessed old women! In my time, fellows at sea didn't go in forslops and mollycoddling, as all of you do now. By jingo, the gunroommight as well be turned into a nursery at once, with such a pack ofchildren about!"

"At all events, we'd never be at a loss for a nurse, old chappie, withyou aboard, " said Larkyns, sniggering. "Indeed, you'd make even abetter one than we could get ashore. "

"Hey!" exclaimed Mr Stormcock, a bit puzzled at this. "What do youmean?"

"I don't mean a dry nurse, you know, old chappie, though you said, youwere `dry' just now, " replied Larkyns, laughing at his own joke. "Nordo I mean a wet 'un. No, old chappie, I mean a wetter-un, do you twig?"

"Phaugh!" ejaculated the master's mate, with a gesture of disgust, as heturned towards the binnacle to take the course the ship was steering, soas to lay it off on his chart and estimate the distance run and ourprobable position by dead reckoning. "A beastly pun like that is enougha make a fellow sick!"

"All right, old chappie, I'd better get out of your way, if that's thecase, " rejoined Larkyns, chuckling. "I'll go below and finish my tea, which I would certainly not have left behind me, with you about, had itbeen grog!"

With which parting shot at what was generally believed to be MrStormcock's particular weakness, and one which had delayed hispromotion, Larkyns hopped down the after-hatchway on his way to thegunroom, I following after him, nothing loth to have some littlerefreshment after my long stay on deck, this having made me hungryagain. 

Things were pretty quiet below, I found, most of the noisier spirits ofthe mess having eaten their fill and departed; and, fortunately, thegunroom steward had not forgotten us late-comers, there being plenty ofthe "water-bewitched" sort of beverage that goes by the name of "tea" onboard ship, albeit we had to be content with an extra allowance of sugarin lieu of milk. 

To make up for this, however, the good-natured Dobbs had thoughtfullyreserved for the delectation of Larkyns and myself a fragment of somevery stale cake, which, from the important air he assumed whenpresenting it to our astonished gaze, he evidently considered a greattreat; and, I was really sorry at Larkyns making some unkind remark orother about Noah and the Ark in connection with this venerable daintythat, I'm sure, must have hurt the feelings of the steward, who meant todo us a kindness, no doubt, and, at all events, did his best!

At Four Bells, or six o'clock, I went on deck again with Mr Jellaby andthe port watch, remaining on duty until the end of the second dog watch. 

By that time, we were passing the Bill of Portland, sailing close-hauledstill down Channel on the starboard tack; but, I was so tired out that Icould hardly keep my eyes open, only knowing what the quartermasterkindly told me, so on getting below again soon after Eight Bells, Iturned into my hammock without troubling much at undressing, and was "asfast as a top" within less than a minute of reaching the steerage. 

Next morning, on awakening, I was much surprised at everything beingvery quiet between decks, without any motion of the ship or rush of thewater past her sides, and I wondered what had happened to cause thisstillness. 

On turning out, however, my wonder was soon allayed by discovering thatwe had made Plymouth during the small hours, and were now anchored inthe Sound, midway between Mount Edgecombe and the breakwater. 

I may add, that the mess table in the gunroom at breakfast clearlydemonstrated our proximity to this very hospitable port, by the lavishabundance of milk and eggs, not to speak of bloaters and marmalade, sothat even Tom Mills was satisfied. 

He did not have the heart to take another rise out of the irasciblecaterer, Mr Stormcock; while, as for Plumper, the senior mate, I neversaw a chap eat in my life as he did. 

An ostrich of the most enterprising digestion, or the boa-constrictor atthe Zoological Gardens who recently swallowed its messmate in a weakmoment, would neither of them have been a match for the fat littlegourmand, who made even Dobbs stare at his efforts in the knife-and-forkline. 

We stopped at Plymouth for some four-and-twenty hours, shippingsupernumeraries and taking in surplus stores. 

After which, weighing anchor again, we worked out of the Sound, havingto tack twice before clearing the breakwater; and, resuming our passagewe passed the Lizard the same afternoon, being some ten or twelve milesto the southward of the Bishop's Rock in the Scilly Isles at midnight. 

I noticed the bright, star-like light of the latter, low down on thehorizon, away on our weather quarter, only just dimly discernible in thedistance through the haze, when I came on deck for the middle watch, thelighthouse looking to me as if twinkling to us a last farewell from homeand the land we had left, never, perhaps, to see again. 

But, although we made fair enough progress, we were not able to preserveas straight a course as Captain Farmer and the master would have likedto have done. 

The wind was continually on the shift and trying to head us, thuscausing us to keep the ship away and steer more to the southward;instead of making all the westering we could when leaving the channel, so as to give Cape Ushant, with its erratic currents and treacherousindraught, as wide a berth as possible--the French coast being a badlookout under one's lee at any time!

However, we had to make the best we could of the wind we had; and bynoon next day, when Mr Quadrant took the sun, having all of us roundhim on the poop, cadets as well as midshipmen, on the alert to watch forthe dip and mark off the angle on our sextants, we were found to be inlatitude 48 degrees 50 minutes North, and longitude 7 degrees 35 minutesWest, showing that we had run some two hundred miles or so since leavingPlymouth Sound. 

After observing the sun's altitude, we were supposed to work out thereckoning for ourselves independently of each other; though, when themaster sent us down to the gunroom to do this, the lazy hands amongstus, who were by a long way in the majority, cribbed from those who werereadier at figures, like Larkyns and Ned Anstruther, both of whomarrived at the same result as Mr Quadrant, ay even in a shorter time, handing in their papers for inspection before I had well-nigh begunmine. 

"Here, Vernon, take my log and copy it out, " cried Larkyns, seeing mesomewhat puzzled over the calculations I was making by the aid of a fatvolume of logarithm tables and Roper's "Navigator"; "you lookconsiderably fogged, old chappie, by the cut of your jib. "

"No thank you, " I replied, all on my mettle, determined not to be beat. "I want to try and make it out by myself, so that I shall know how to doit next time. "

"Bravo, youngster, " put in Mr Stormcock. "That's the only way tobecome a good navigator. Fudging your reckoning will never teach youhow to work out your altitudes; you stick to it, my boy, and do it onyour own hook. "

Nor did the master's mate content himself with merely giving me thissound advice; for, sitting down by my side, he overhauled my figuresand, being an expert mathematician, soon put me in the right road toarriving at a solution of my difficulties. 

Really, he explained the various steps necessary in order to work outthe reckoning in such a simple way that I understood it thoroughly;learning more in this one lesson from Mr Stormcock than I had done, Ithink, during the three months that I had studied navigation while onboard the training-ship _Illustrious_. 

I learnt even yet more. 

That was, not to judge by appearances and form hasty conclusions as tothe character of my messmates; as, up to the moment of his coming thusto my aid, I had always considered Mr Stormcock an ill-tempered andsoured man--whereas I now saw he was at bottom a good-natured fellow andone ready enough to help another when opportunity offered!

It was a lesson which, like the one he had just taught me in navigation, I never forgot. 

Towards sunset that afternoon, when we were entering the Bay of Biscay, the lookout man on the foretopsail yard hailed the deck. 

"Sail in sight, sir!" he sang out loudly. "She's on our port bow, sir. "

"All right, " answered the officer of the watch, Mr Jellaby, who was upon the poop and I below on the quarter-deck at the time; and then, turning to the yeoman of signals, he cried, "Signalman, a vessel's insight on our port bow, go and look at her and see what she is. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " replied the seaman, putting his telescope to his eye;when, scanning in the direction pointed out to him, he soon made out theship. "She appears like a strange man-of-war, sir. "

"Very well, " said Mr Jellaby. "Watch her till you can make her outperfectly. "

In another minute or two, the signalman made the result of his secondscrutiny known. 

"She's a French man-of-war and is making for Brest, I think, sir. "

"Ah!" exclaimed "Joe, " having a look at her, too, with his binocular. "Hoist the ensign!"

This was done; but, the stranger made no sign, until, graduallyapproaching each other all the while, she was about three miles off, when she displayed the gallant tricolour flag of France. 

"Signalman, " sang out Mr Jellaby on seeing this, "Dip the colours!"

Our ensign was thereupon raised and lowered from the peak three times insuccession, according to the usual nautical etiquette observed on suchoccasions, the other ship returning the compliment in like fashion; andwe were just passing each other, she crossing our bows and sailing awayright before the wind on our starboard beam, when, all of a sudden, shebrought up, backing her maintopsail and firing a gun at the same time toattract our attention. 

"By Jove, she wants to speak us; something must be up!" said thecommander who had come on deck in the meanwhile. "Go below, Vernon, andtell the cap'en at once. "

CHAPTER SIXTEEN. 

"MAN OVERBOARD!"

"Confound those mounseers, " I heard Mr Stormcock say to the master as Icame out from Captain Farmer's cabin. "I wonder what they want to stopus for now, just as we were getting clear of Ushant? It's sure to bringus bad luck!"

"By jingo, it is a nuisance bringing us up like this, " chorused MrQuadrant, a fellow-grumbler of the same kidney. "We might have carriedon as we were standing, if those blessed Parlyvoos, had only let usalone; while now, when we do make a start again, the wind will mostprobably have headed us, and we'll then have to go about and bear awayto the nor'ard on the port tack, losing all the southing we've madesince yesterday!"

In spite of both their growls, however, we could not well avoid theinterview, albeit it was none of our seeking; and while I went down tosummons the captain, Commander Nesbitt ordered the courses to be clewedup and the mainyard squared, so as to heave the ship to. 

When I came up again the Frenchman and ourselves had both our heads towindward and were bobbing about abreast of each other, though still somedistance apart; dipping deeply in the rough seaway and occasionallyrolling broadside on, with the salt spray and spindrift coming in overour hammock nettings in sprinkles of foam. 

"Hullo!" cried Larkyns, who was signal midshipman and was looking at thestranger with a diminutive telescope screwed-up to his starboard eye. "She's hoisted the answering pen'ant under her ensign. "

"That means she's going to use the International Code, " said thecommander, overhearing him. "Signalman, keep a sharp lookout on her, and have your book handy to read her signal as soon as it goes up!"

"Ay, ay, sir, " replied the man, who was, like Larkyns, squinting hisbest at the other ship, although with a much bigger glass. "Something'sgoing up now, sir. "

"Yes, I see, " said Commander Nesbitt, as a string of flags were run upto the French ship's main. "Have our answering pen'ant ready to hoistas soon as you can make it out. Look sharp, signalman! What does shesay?"

"It's `B D N, ' sir, " stammered out the man, who was rapidly turning overthe pages of the signal book, seeking the meaning of the flags in thatdictionary of the sign language of the sea, and missing what he soughtto find in his hurry. "I--I--can't find it, sir. "

"Can't find your grandmother!" cried the Commander, impatiently, vexedat the delay. "Here, give me the signal book!"

"The hoist means `I want to communicate, ' I think, " observed CaptainFarmer, who had come up quietly on the poop meanwhile, and stood behindthe commander. "But the Frenchman might have saved himself the troubleof sending such a signal aloft; for, the mere fact of his already comingup to the wind and firing a gun, told us as much beforehand!"

"I should think so, sir; but it's just like those Johnny Crapauds--always gabbling a lot about nothing!" rejoined the commander, who, atlast, had now found the right page of the signal book. "Yes, sir, you're quite right, as usual! I wish I had your memory for signals! He`wants to communicate. ' Signalman, hoist our answering pen'ant!"

At this order, the red-and-white barred pennant, which had long sincebeen bent ready to the signal halliards, was run up to our main truck. 

From this point of vantage, it flew out fair above all our sails andtophamper, visible all round the compass and telling the Frenchcorvette, still curvetting and prancing abreast of us and showing herbright copper sheathing as she rolled, that we had at last made out hersignal and were waiting to learn what she had to say. 

"I hope it's really important, " said Captain Farmer to the commander;while Larkyns and the head signalman kept their glasses fixed on theopposite ship, ready to take in her next signal. "Internationalcourtesies are all very well in their way, but I don't like beingstopped for a mere exchange of bunting and that sort of balderdash, Nesbitt. "

"Nor I, sir, " agreed the commander. "Ha, they're sending up anotherhoist now, and we'll soon know all about it. What's that now, signalman?"

"`B L K, ' sir, " replied the yeoman of signals and Larkyns in one breath;and the former, running his fingers over the pages of the signal book, which Commander Nesbitt had returned to his custody, soon found that theinterpretation of the flags thus clustered was, "We have passed a wreck, but were unable to stand by to see if any survivors were aboard her. "

"Oh!" exclaimed the captain on this being read out aloud, as thesignalman put it down on the slate for entry into the ship's log, according to the usual custom. "This is getting interesting. Hoist `QR S' after the answering pen'ant. "

"I say, Larkyns, " I asked, in an undertone of my friend the senior mid, as a string of square flags went up on our side--a yellow on top, a redsquare with a yellow cross in the middle, and a white flag with a bluecentre the lowermost--"what does our signal mean, eh?"

"It means, " he whispered back, keeping his starboard eye still glued tohis telescope, "`whereabouts is that wreck you're speaking of?'"

Some considerable delay now occurred on board the corvette; theFrenchies, in spite of their taking the initiative in the matter, beingnot as handy as our man in the manipulation of their flags. 

At last, however, they sent up two hoists in rather a slovenly fashion, one going up after the other. 

"Ha, that's the latitude, " said Captain Farmer. "`F K S' and `G I V'Signalman, what does that make, eh?"

"Forty-seven degrees, and fifteen minutes north latitude, sir. "

"Good, my man, " returned the captain, approvingly. "You've read thatpretty smartly! Now, hoist the answering pennant; though, I supposewe'll have to wait another month of Sundays for their longitude. No, byJove! Messieurs les Francais are a trifle quicker this time. `F N J'and `G V L. ' How do you make them out, signalman? See if you can be assmart again as you were just now. "

"Ay, ay, sir, " returned the yeoman, all on his mettle and his eye thequicker to scan the alphabetical pages of his flag lexicon where thesignals were catalogued in groups according to their subjects, this onebeing a numeral and, therefore, all the easier to read. "It's longitude9 degrees 15 minutes west, sir. "

"All right, put it down correctly, signalman, " said Captain Farmer; and, turning to the commander, he added, "Why, Nesbitt, it's nearly in ourdirect course across the Bay, only we shall have a tighter squeeze, perhaps, in weathering Finisterre. "

"But, we can go a couple of points more free, sir, " observed MrQuadrant, who had busied himself shaping a course on a chart by thebinnacle as soon as he heard the latitude and longitude given. "That'llbe better than going about on the port tack, as I thought we should haveto do, sir. "

"Yes--ha--humph! But I don't like going too near Finisterre, though, Mr Quadrant, with a westerly gale threatening, " said the captain. "Wecannot help ourselves, however, at present, for we must go after thiswreck and see if there're any unfortunate people aboard; though, I thinkthose Frenchmen might have overhauled her themselves, instead of leavingit for us to do! Hoist `H V L, ' signalman! That will serve, Nesbitt, to tell them we'll attend to the wreck. Let us fill and bear awayagain. We can't afford to waste any more time palavering with ourfriend over yonder, who keeps us bowing and scraping like a veritableFrenchman as he is! Run up the signal now, signalman; and, Nesbitt, give him a parting dip of the ensign, and then brace round the yards andbear up!"

"Very good, sir, " replied the commander; and, as soon as the Frenchmenhad hoisted their answering pennant to show that our signal had beentaken in and understood, he turned to the poop-rail and sang out, "Bosun's mate, pipe the watch to trim sails!"

The braces were then manned and the main yard swung, while our helm puthard a-starboard; when, the upper sails now filling and drawing again, our courses were dropped and the tacks hauled aboard, the clew garnetsrattling as they were brought aft, and the ship put on her course. 

We bore away, though, a couple of points more to the southward thanbefore, steering sou'-sou'-west, towards the position of the wreck, aspointed out to us by our communicative friends, the strange ship. 

"By Jove, sir, " exclaimed the commander as we bade farewell to theFrenchman, who also filled at the same time and went about on his way, both of us dipping our ensigns once more in salute, "we never thought ofasking his name!"

"No more we did, Nesbitt, " said Captain Farmer; and the two stared ateach other for a moment in silence, the captain ultimately breaking intoa laugh. "But, that need not trouble you; for, I should know thatcorvette anywhere, I think, from the way she tumbles home from her waterline abaft the beam. She's the old _Serieuse_ for a thousand!"

"Indeed, sir?"

"Yes. She was one of the French fleet in the Black Sea when I was outthere with old Dundas. I've been alongside her too often to forget herqueer build!"

"But, I thought most of those French corvettes were wall-sided, sir?"

"Ay, true enough, " replied Captain Farmer, with a chuckle, as he camedown the poop-ladder and turned to go into his cabin. "But, not all ofthem, Nesbitt, not all of them, my boy. I tell you, I would know theold _Serieuse_ anywhere, for they haven't got another tub like herafloat. "

"The `old man's' right, " I heard the master say to Mr Stormcock whenthe captain had disappeared. "The corvette was on the right of our linewhen we bombarded Odessa; and I recollect she missed stays when tacking, and pretty nearly came aboard us. "

"By jingo, " replied Mr Stormcock, enthusiastically, "what an eye theold man has for a ship, and what a memory for signals! I never cameacross his equal. "

So thought I too; however, each day disclosed some fresh trait in ourcaptain's character, which surprised us all the more from his being sucha very reserved man. 

He was in the habit of keeping himself to himself until occasion aroseto bring out his latent qualities. 

Time, and a longer acquaintance with him, only taught us this pregnantfact, amongst other things!

While all the signalling had been going on, the wind was graduallyfreshening and the sea getting up; and by the time we made sail againthe waves had put on their white caps, while a heavy, rolling swell hadset in. 

This met us almost full butt as we lay on our course and broke over ourweather bow in columns of spray, washing the forecastle fore and aft andtumbling into the waist in a cataract of foam. 

The water was knee-deep on the lee side of the deck, whenever the shipheeled over to port under the pressure of her canvas, passing out of thescuppers like a mill-race on her rising again and righting on an evenkeel. 

The more the gale blew, however, the better the old _Candahar_ appearedto like it; racing along in grand style, and kicking up her heels to theFrenchman who was pretty soon hull down astern, the distance between uswidening each instant all the more rapidly from the fact of ourproceeding in opposite directions!

At Two Bells, when the log was hove, we were found to be going over nineknots but the ship began to plunge so much presently, that CommanderNesbitt, after one or two anxious glances aloft, ordered the boatswain'smate to call the hands to shorten sail, setting them to work the momentthey came up from below, the topgallant sails and royals being taken inwithout delay and the royal yards sent down. 

"I thought we were going to have bad luck, " observed Mr Stormcock, whohad made his appearance again on the quarter-deck on hearing theboatswain's pipe for all hands. "We haven't seen the worst of it yet, I'm afraid. "

"Shut up, you old croaker, " said Mr Jellaby. "Why, you're a regularJonah with your prophecies of evil!"

"I hope you won't chuck me overboard for it, though, as they did him!"replied Mr Stormcock, good-humouredly. "Goodness knows, I don't wishany harm to the old ship, or anyone in her! It isn't likely I would;but, look at those clouds there away to win'ard and judge for yourselfwhat sort of weather we're likely to have before nightfall!"

"Yes; no doubt you're right, Stormcock, " said "Joe" in answer to this, squinting as he spoke over the side to the westward, where a heavy bankof cloud was rising up and nearly blotting out now the sun as it sanklower and lower towards the horizon. "It does look squally, certainly;still, I can't see the use of anticipating the worst and trying to meettroubles half-way, as you do, old chap!"

"I would rather be prepared for them than be caught napping, " rejoinedthe master's mate, eyeing the quartermaster at the wheel, who was givinga helping hand to the two helmsmen, their task being by no means easy tomake the ship keep her luff under the circumstances of wind and sea. "Iwonder the commander doesn't reef tops'ls? We can't carry on muchlonger like this!"

"I hope he won't, " whispered little Tommy Mills to me aside, my chumhaving come up with the rest from the gunroom at the general call. "Ain't it jolly, spinning along like this, eh, Jack?"

Before I could reply, however, the commander seemed to have arrived atMr Stormcock's opinion, that we were still carrying too much canvas, for he came to the break of the poop and shouted out to the boatswain'smate. 

"Hands reef topsails!" he cried. "Topmen aloft! Take in two reefs!"

"Not a bit too soon, " growled the master's mate, under his breath. "Heought to have given that order when the to'gallants were taken in!"

"Better late than never, say I, " said Mr Jellaby, laughing, as thetopmen raced up the ratlines and the weather braces were rounded-in, preparatory to reefing. "Really, Stormcock, you're the most inveterategrowler I have come across in the service since first I went to sea, byJove!"

Tom Mills and I chuckled at this; but, alas! our merriment was suddenlyhushed by hearing a wild shriek come from aloft, that rose above themoaning of the wind as it whistled through the rigging and themelancholy wash of the waves, while, at the same instant, a dark bodywhizzed through the air and fell into the water alongside with a heavyplunge. 

"Good heavens!" exclaimed Commander Nesbitt, as we all stared at oneanother with blanched faces. "What is that?"

His question was answered in the moment of its utterance by a loud shoutfrom forward that rang through the ship, sending a chill to every heart. 

"Man overboard!"

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN. 

A HOPELESS QUEST. 

"Sentry, let go the life-buoy!" cried out Commander Nesbitt at once tothe marine guard on duty on the poop, as the shout reached his ears; andthen, facing round again forward, he said, "Bosun's mate, call away thelifeboat crew!"

On the order being given, the marine had instantly pulled the triggerreleasing the slip by which the patent buoy was suspended over thestern, whereupon it dropped into the sea below; the same mechanismigniting the port fire with which it was charged, although it was notyet dark, as the friction-tube had been put in a short while previouslywhen the watch was relieved at Eight Bells, it being the rule on boardfor the gunner's mate to do this every day before sunset and take outthe percussion-tube again in the morning at daybreak when the handsturned out to wash and scrub decks. 

So, no sooner had the buoy touched the water than it floated away, flaming in our wake; the lurid blue light casting a spectral glare onthe phosphorescent foam of the broken wave crests that contrastedweirdly with the last expiring gleams of the setting sun, now nearlyhidden by the pall-like black cloud, which had gradually risen along thehorizon and stretched itself across the whole western sky, creeping upsteadily towards the zenith and shutting out little by little the lastbit of blue. 

At the sound of the boatswain's pipe, too, the cutter's crew had begunto muster on the poop, the leading hands unloosing the gripes with whichthe boat was secured and the coxswain attending to the tiller; while twoor three of the men had already put on their cork jackets and takentheir seats on the thwarts, ready for lowering away, the little craftbeing swung out from the davits to leeward. 

Excitement there was, of course, amongst us all, everybody looking eagerenough, as was natural; but I noticed that, while the commander's orderswere executed with the utmost promptitude, there was no reckless hurryand confusion. 

The most perfect order and discipline prevailed, everything being donesystematically, although the accident had occurred so suddenly andunexpectedly; ay, and despite the fact that every soul on board, fromCaptain Farmer, who had come out of his cabin again immediately onhearing the lifeboat's crew called away, down to the youngest cadet andpowder-monkey, was willing and anxious to do his best to save ourunfortunate shipmate, without one of us knowing as yet who the poorfellow was whose life was thus imperilled. 

No; nor, indeed, did we learn his name until after the topsails had beendouble-reefed and hoisted again and the ship hove-to with hermaintopsail to the mast--which was accomplished in less time, I believe, than was ever known before, the operation not taking more than threeminutes from first to last!

Then it was that we heard who had been lost overboard. 

"It's poor Popplethorne, " said Charley Gilham, the third lieutenant, whohad rushed up to the poop from amidships, where he had been stationed, to take command of the lifeboat. "He fell from the upper rigging as hewas climbing up into the foretop. The sail ballooned out; and then, slatting against the yard as the brace was hauled in, the clewlinecaught him unexpectedly, tripping him up and knocked him out of therigging headlong into the sea!"

"Poor young fellow!" said Captain Farmer. "Do you think he was hurt atall, or fell clear of the ship?"

"I'm afraid not, sir, " replied Mr Gilham, sorrowfully, as he graspedthe after falls and sprang into the cutter. "One of the foretopmen, whowitnessed the accident, says that he appeared to cannon off somethingbelow, bounding out from the ship's side before striking the water, whenhe sank like a stone. "

"I'm afraid, then, there's no hope of picking him up, " said the captain. "Are you all ready, Gilham?"

"All ready, sir. "

"Lower away, then, " cried Captain Farmer. "We can but try to save him!"

With that, down went the boat into the water alongside, in such a speedyfashion that the after falls slipping too quickly through thelieutenant's fingers peeled off the skin from the palms of his hands:though Mr Gilham was quite unconscious of the injury he had receiveduntil he returned on board, his attention being absorbed in the attemptto save the unhappy midshipman by endeavouring to reach the spot wherehe had gone down, by this time half-a-mile or so astern. 

Meanwhile, the commander had stationed lookout men on the crossjack yardand mizzen top, as well as in the weather rigging, to seek for any traceof the poor fellow. 

The captain and a dozen of the officers or more were also on the alert, scanning the broken surface of the choppy sea surrounding us; but, alas, it was all in vain, no dark speck was to be seen anywhere in thedistance resembling the head of the poor fellow trying to keep himselfafloat, although the signal staff of the life-buoy could be made outdistinctly from the deck, without the assistance of its flaming fuse, which the shades of evening rendered all the more visible as daylightwaned. 

Beyond this and the boat, which was cruising about beyond the buoy, awayto leeward, roving hither and thither on its vain quest, there wasnothing in sight of us on board the ship, either from the hammocknettings or mast-head. 

No, nothing but the restless, rolling billows, tossing up their whitecaps in triumph over the victim who had fallen a sacrifice to Neptune;and the breaking waves, that seemed to chuckle with malicious glee whilethe remorseless deep below seemed to give vent every now and again to ahoarse roar of triumph!

"Signalman, hoist the cutter's recall, " said Captain Farmer, presently;after an age of waiting and looking out, as it appeared to me, duringwhich not a word was spoken by anyone. "There is no use searching anymore now. If he were afloat, they would have found him long since!"

"Alas! I'm afraid there's no hope, " replied the commander. "He willnever be seen again, sir, I think, till the sea gives up its dead!"

"No, poor fellow. May he rest in peace. "

Captain Farmer raised his cap reverently as he said this; the commanderdoing the like and adding in his deep voice--

"Amen to that, sir. "

The signalman had run up B flag for the cutter's return; but, as nonotice was apparently taken of the signal, the captain ordered one ofthe bow guns to be fired. 

Even then, however, the boat did not at once obey this imperativecommand, rowing off, indeed, in the opposite direction still, as ifthose in charge of her had noticed some object in the water, which wecould not observe from the ship. 

A minute or two later, we could see the cutter come to a stop; when, bythe aid of the telescope, Larkyns, who was standing by the side ofCaptain Farmer, said he was sure he saw them pick up something and thatthey had now turned and were making for the ship. 

All of us grew excited again on hearing this news, hoping for the best;and as the cutter came closer, the captain, who could not restrain hisimpatience, hailed her!

"Boat, ahoy!" he sang out. "Have you got him?"

Charley Gilham, who was sitting in the sternsheets, with his head bentdown, looked up on hearing the captain's call. 

"No, sir, " he hailed back. "Only his cap!"

The boat came alongside in silence, and the falls were hooked on; when, it was hoisted up to the davits slowly, the men hauling in a sort ofspiritless way, as if saddened by the painful episode, while even theboatswain's pipe seemed to whistle in a subdued tone in the minor key!

On reaching the deck, the lieutenant came up to the captain with poorPopplethorne's cap, turning it over as he presented it to him to drawhis attention to it. 

It was torn and bloody on one side. 

"The topman was right, sir, you see, " he said to Captain Farmer. "Hemust have struck some part of the ship heavily when he fell from aloftbefore going overboard. "

"Yes, " replied the captain. "I see. "

Just then, Mr Jellaby, who had gone forward in the meantime to see ifthere were any traces there of the accident, returned aft, looking moreserious than I had ever seen him before. 

"His head struck against one of the flukes of the sheet-anchor, sir, " hereported to Captain Farmer who had sent him on the errand. "The bill ofit, just abaft the fore-rigging to port, is now spattered with the poorlittle chap's brains. I wonder nobody observed it before, sir. "

"He would, therefore, have been killed instantly and did not suffer anypain, " said the captain. "Poor young fellow, poor young fellow! He wasa most promising lad and always smart at his duty!"

"Trim sails!" cried out the commander at this juncture, in a voice huskywith emotion; as if anxious to hide his feelings, now that the captainhad pronounced his requiem to the memory of our late shipmate. "Braceup the mainyard!"

At once our sails filled, when the ship was put upon her course again;and, the watch being then set, we all went below, the boatswain pipingthe hands down to supper, for it was nearly Three Bells and more than anhour after the usual time for that meal. 

Naturally everybody in the gunroom was full of the accident, the fellowsall thinking more of poor Dick Popplethorne when dead, for the moment atleast, than they had ever done while he was living; and I, myself, couldnot help remembering the strange coincidence of his laughing over MrJellaby's yarn about the marine as we were sailing down Channel only afew days before and being especially merry over the young sentry'smistake in calling out "Dead boy" when the bell struck. 

Poor chap, he was a dead boy now, indeed; although, he had been aliveand as hearty and jolly as any of us that very afternoon down there atdinner in the mess. 

It was almost incredible to recollect this! "I have just calculated, "observed Mr Stormcock amidst the general talk about our late messmate, as if stating a most important fact, "that the youngster fell overboardin latitude 48 degrees north, pretty nearly, and longitude 8 degrees 10minutes west--a trifle to the westward of where we met that confoundedFrenchman. "

"I don't see how that information can be of any use to his friends, Stormcock, " said Mr Fortescue Jones, with a coarse laugh. "We can'tvery well put up a tombstone over him in the Bay of Biscay. "

"For shame, sir!" exclaimed little Tom Mills, who was huddled up cryingin a corner of the gunroom, Dick Popplethorne having been an old homefriend. "Don't make fun of the po-poor fellow now he's dead!"

"That's right, youngster, " put in Mr Stormcock. "Stick up for yourfriend. I didn't mean anything against him for a moment, for I alwaysfound him a good sort of chap; though, I can't say I had very much to dowith him. "

"Well, for my part, I won't say I'm sorry he has lost the number of hismess, " said that brute Andrews. "He was as big a bully as Larkyns, andI don't owe him any good will, I can tell you. "

"You cowardly cur!" exclaimed Tom Mills, his face flaming up, though thetears were still coursing down his cheeks. "You know you wouldn't saythat if Larkyns were here now. "

"Wouldn't I, cry babby?"

Tom did not reply to this in words; but he sent a telescope, that lay atthe end of one of the tables near him, flying across the gunroom, catching Andrews a crack on his uplifted arm. 

This saved his head, fortunately for him, Tom's shot being a vicious oneand well aimed!

"What do you mean by that?" said the ill-natured brute. "Do you want tofight?"

"Not with you, " rejoined Tommy, whose anger had conquered his grief, speaking with much dignity. "I only fight with gentlemen, and you're asnob! No gentleman would speak ill of those unable to defendthemselves, or say a thing behind a fellow's back which he would nothave the pluck to do when he was present. Andrews, you're a cad and acoward!"

"Stow that, youngster!" interposed Mr Stormcock, as little Tommy roseup and made towards the cad, who, however, showed no inclination toresent the insult offered him. "I won't allow any quarrelling in themess! If you want to fight, my boys, you must go into the steerage. "

Andrews, I noticed, did not offer to stir, however, in response to thissuggestion of the master's mate, which he would certainly have done ifhe had been possessed of an ounce of courage in his nature. 

Tom and I both agreed on this when talking over the matter subsequently;so, seeing what a chicken-hearted fellow he was, my _cocky_ little chumsat down again and began tucking into his tea, Andrews getting uppresently and sneaking away when he thought the coast clear. 

Mr Stormcock proved to be a false prophet with regard to the foulweather that evening; for, when I went up on deck again to have a lookround before turning in, although it was still blowing fresh from thewestwards, the black cloud that had previously covered the sky hadpartly cleared away, leaving only a few fleecy flying masses in itsstead. 

Between them the moon fitfully shone occasionally and an odd star or twopeeped out here and there; while our good ship was bowling along underher topgallants, which had been set again by the commander over thedouble-reefed topsails, with her courses and jib and spanker, and theforetopmast staysail, continuing under the same canvas during the night, without hauling a sheet or tautening a brace, the wind hardly shiftinghalf-a-point all the while. 

We made such progress, too, towards the spot where the French shipreported having passed the wreck of which we were in search, that, atSix Bells in the morning watch, the lookout man forward, who had beenspecially ordered to keep a good watch to windward, hailed the deck. 

"Sail in sight, sir!" he sang out, just as the hands were in the middleof their breakfast. "She's hull down on the weather bow!"

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN. 

ON THE DECK OF THE DERELICT. 

"Where away, my man?" shouted Commander Nesbitt, who, at the samemoment, came up on the poop and was scanning the horizon on his ownaccount. "How does she bear, eh?"

"Two points off the weather bow, sir, " replied the lookout from theforetopsail yard. "We're rising her now, sir; and I can see one of hermasts, though the rest of her spars seem to have gone by the board. "

"All right, my man, keep her in your eye, " sang back the commander, whothen turned to the helmsman. "Give her more lee helm, quartermaster;and see if you can't luff her up a couple of points! Watch, trim sails!Head lee braces! Brace up your head yards!"

With this, we hauled our wind; and, by bracing the yards sharp up andkeeping her full and bye, we were able to bring the ship's head a bitmore to the westward than we had been previously sailing, steering nowsouth-west by south instead of sou'-sou'-west as before, which was asnear as we could get her to proceed in the direction where the lookoutman had reported the vessel. 

By Eight Bells, we could make out the derelict clearly from the deck;and, shortly after breakfast when we had closed her within half-a-mile, we could see that somehow or other she had got terribly knocked about, her bulwarks having been carried away, as well as most of her spars andrigging, only the stump of her mainmast being left still standing, withthe yard, which had parted at the slings, hanging down all a-cockbill. 

There was a portion of the shrouds left, also, and the backstay; but, ofeverything else, as far as we could judge at that distance, a cleansweep had been made fore and aft and the vessel seemed to be a completewreck. 

The commander's keen eyes, however, caught sight of something, which atthe first glance had escaped the notice of both lookout and signalman;not to speak of the many officers who stood around on the poop, scrutinising the dismantled vessel through their glasses, none of whomhad observed this object until Commander Nesbitt pointed it out. 

"Hullo!" he exclaimed abruptly. "What is that lashed to the rigging onher port beam?"

Every glass was instantly directed to the point he had indicated. 

"It's a man, sir, " said the signalman, noticing the object on its nowbeing pointed out to him, very wise after the event, as most of us aredisposed to be in everyday life. "I think I can see him move, sir. "

"Yes, by Jove!" cried Mr Jellaby, who stood near, holding on to one ofthe davits, jumping up on the gunwale to have a better view. "There heis waving one of his arms now!"

"I don't know about that, imagination sometimes goes a great way inthese matters, " observed Commander Nesbitt, after carefully inspectingthe battered hulk with the glass Mr Jellaby handed him; "but, at allevents, we'll send a boat aboard and see. Bosun's mate, pipe the watchto stand by to heave the ship to! Clew up the courses. Square the mainyard!"

Larkyns, being, as I mentioned before, signal midshipman, had gone downto report the fact of our being close up with the wreck to CaptainFarmer, who now appeared on the scene of action. 

He at once gave an order for the first cutter to be lowered andpreparations made for boarding the strange vessel, an order which wasimmediately carried into effect. 

"Mr Jellaby had better go in charge of the boat, sir, I should think, "suggested the commander. "There's a bit of a sea running and I don'tlike sending a midshipman in such a case; for, you know, sir, we cannotexpect old heads on young shoulders. "

"All right, Nesbitt, " replied the captain; "do as you like. "

This was a great disappointment to Ned Anstruther, who had come on deckfully equipped for the expedition in his sea boots and monkey jacket. 

He had hurriedly dressed himself on hearing the cutter piped away as hewas her proper officer, it being the general custom on board aman-of-war for each of the ship's boats to be under the charge of one ofthe midshipmen, who invariably goes away in her under all circumstancesof wind or weather for whatever duty she may be required. 

There is little doubt that it is mainly owing to this practice of beingearly trained to exercise their judgment and discretion, and taught tocommand as well as to obey when young, that the officers of our serviceacquire that dash and readiness of action which is usually foundlacking, it may be asserted without being accused of any insularprejudice or partiality, amongst those of other nations, who never havethe same opportunities extended to them as a rule until they are almosttoo old to learn. 

Boat service has been the school that brought forth the Nelsons andRodneys of the past, as it has produced the Hornbys and Kanes andBeresfords of the navy of to-day, so to speak; and, whether our sailorshave to fight behind wooden walls or in armoured turrets, the practicewill continue to teach self-reliance and the use of brains. 

Ay, boat service will always stand our sailors, officers and men alike, in good stead; despite the fact that they go to sea now in "floatingfactories" instead of on board ships such as our forefathers learnttheir seamanship in, and that modern scientists, who treat everything onstrictly theoretical principles, and, though have never smelt bluewater, lay down laws for our guidance in the naval tactics of thefuture, dictating how we are to act and fight and manoeuvre under anyand every possible prearranged contingency!

It was an awful sell, therefore, for poor Ned Anstruther when MrJellaby was deputed to the charge of his boat and he was thus "left outin the cold, " as the saying goes!

Nor was his mortification in any way lessened when the commander toldhim that the reason why he would not let him go, was because he couldnot swim properly; for there might be danger in getting alongside thewreck, with the wind and sea that was on. 

So, Ned did not appear at all pleased when the lieutenant steppedforward to take his place in the cutter, giving him an envious look whenhe took his seat in the sternsheets prior to her being lowered down. I, too, cast an appealing glance at Mr Jellaby; and this, fortunately forme, Commander Nesbitt intercepted. 

"I suppose you would like to go, youngster, eh?" he said to me. "Well, you may, if you like. I know that you can keep yourself afloat, at anyrate if you get capsized, from what I learnt of your experiences theother day at Spithead; and, perhaps, Mr Jellaby may find you of use. Jump in, my boy. "

It is hardly necessary to say how promptly I obeyed the order. 

As my dear old Dad would have expressed it, "Sharp was the word andquick the action. "

All the cutter's passengers, however, were not yet aboard. 

"Hold on, there!" cried Captain Farmer, as the falls were slackened offand the boat slowly lowered down into the heaving water alongside, thewaves coming half-way up the counter to meet her. "I think the doctorhad better go with you, Mr Jellaby. There may be some poor fellow onthe wreck in need of immediate medical aid; and it will be a greatsaving of time, indeed, it may be the means of saving a life, if it beon the spot instead of your having to send back to the ship for it. Sentry, pass the word below for Dr Nettleby. "

We did not have to wait long; for, almost as soon as the captain'smessage could have reached the main deck, the doctor made his appearanceon the poop, accompanied by my old friend, Corporal Macan, carrying asurgical case and a roll of bandages, while the neck of asuspicious-looking flask could be also seen peeping out from one of hispockets. 

In another minute or so, Dr Nettleby and his factotum managed to slidedown by the aid of the after life-line into the sternsheets of the boat;though, they took their seats in a rather hurried fashion beside thelieutenant and myself. 

Then, watching our opportunity to lower away, we managed so to time itthat the cutter lighted on the crest of one of the rollers. 

This took us some yards away from the ship's side with the followingswell of the sea; when our oars were dropped into the water at the wordof command and we made for the wreck. 

It was a stiff piece of work reaching her, for wind and waves were bothagainst us and rowing difficult; the cutter at one moment being on thetop of a mountainous billow and the next plunged deep down into ayawning valley of green water, the broken ridges of which curled overour gunwales on either hand, threatening to overwhelm us till we, roseagain beyond their clutch. 

But, the men "putting their backs into it, " and the coxswain steeringjudiciously so as to prevent the boat from broaching to, we finally gotalongside the battered hulk. 

We boarded her under the forechains to leeward, as she was down by thehead, with a considerable list to port; and this seemed the safest pointat which to approach her. 

Getting close up, the bowman at once threw a grapnel that caught in someof the loose ropes hanging over the side; and, before we were wellalongside, Mr Jellaby had scrambled up on to the forecastle of theill-fated vessel. 

Dr Nettleby and myself were not far behind him, Corporal Macan andBill Bates, the coxswain of the cutter, following to render anyassistance that might be necessary; the boat meanwhile being veered awayto the end of the grapnel rope so as to be out of harm's way and yetwithin easy reach of us as soon as we might want to go on board heragain. 

On gaining the deck, the scene presented to our gaze was piteous beyondall description, the ship appearing to have been first run into by someother craft and then left to drift about at the mercy of the elements. 

Her starboard bow had been cut right through up to the head of theforemast, which had been carried away completely, with all its spars andrigging, as well as the bowsprit and maintopmast. 

In addition to these, the mizzen and everything aft had gone; not astick being left standing in her save the stump of the mainmast, as ourlookout man had reported soon after just sighting her, as well as partof the lower rigging amidships. 

Besides this, a section of the mainyard that had snapped in two at theslings was still held aloft by the truss, the other end of the sparhaving brought up, against the chain-plates, the brace being twistedround the shrouds and deadeyes in the most wonderful way!

Mr Jellaby, however, did not stop to notice these details, but made hisway as well as he could through the maze of tangled cordage and heaps ofwreckage that lay about in every direction towards the portion of themain rigging yet remaining intact, where, lashed to a fragment of thebulwarks that had not been washed away, was the figure of the manCommander Nesbitt had noticed. 

There was no doubt now of his being alive; for, he was gesticulatingviolently and waving his arms about like those of a windmill. 

The rolling of the ship and the clean breach which the sea made acrossthe open deck amidships rendered the task of reaching the poor fellowall the harder; but, watching his chance between the lurches of thewater-logged barque and clambering over the wreckage that rilled thewaist from the forecastle up to the main hatchway, Mr Jellaby was ableat last to get near enough to hear the voice of the man, who was a mostragged and miserable-looking creature, and was yelling out wildly as ifhe were insane in the intervals of his frantic motions, when there was alull in the noise of the waves. 

"He's saying something, doctor, " he cried to Dr Nettleby, who hadpluckily followed him up close, albeit so much older a man. "See if youcan make him out; I don't understand the lingo. "

The doctor listened for a moment and shook his head. 

"It's no language that I can recognise, " he said after a pause, as ifthinking over all the dialects he had ever come across in hiswanderings. "The poor chap has evidently gone mad and is jabbering somegibberish or other. Look how his eyes are rolling!"

By this time, however, I had managed to come up to where Mr Jellaby andthe doctor were holding on to the backstay, and as the wind just thendropped for an instant and the deafening din of the clashing watersceased, I caught a word or two out of a long sentence which theunfortunate man screamed out at the moment at the top of his voice. 

"He's talking Spanish, sir!" I exclaimed, much to the surprise of myseniors. "I can make out something that sounds like `por Dios, ' whichmeans `for the love of God, ' sir. "

"Indeed!" said Mr Jellaby, gripping hold of one of the clewlines whichhung down from the broken yard and swayed about in the wind, preparingto swing himself across the encumbered deck to the port shrouds beyond, where the man was lashed. "I didn't know you were so good a linguist, young Vernon. By Jove, you'll be of more use than I thought you wouldbe when the commander told me to take you with me. "

"Oh!" I cried, rather shamefaced at this, "I only know a little of thelanguage. I learnt it when I was in the West Indies with my father. Welived in one of the islands where there were a lot of Spaniards, and Iheard their lingo spoken often enough. "

"Well, anyway, it's lucky that you know something about it now, for youcan keep your ears cocked and hear what the poor beggar says, while wetry to release him from his uncomfortable billet. Here, Bates, bear ahand!"

So saying, Mr Jellaby swung himself across the frothing chasm that laybetween him and the object of his pity, with the coxswain of the cutterafter him, while Dr Nettleby and I remained by the mainmast bitts, Corporal Macan busying himself in getting the doctor's medical trapsready for immediate use. 

I soon had to exercise my new office of interpreter, for the man beganshouting again on seeing Mr Jellaby and the coxswain near him. 

"Ah del buque!" he screamed out, holding up, as if to signal with it, one of his emaciated hands, the bony fingers of which looked like thoseof a skeleton. 

"Como se llama el buque?"

"He says `ship ahoy!' sir, " I explained to the doctor. "`What ship isthat?'"

"Tell him who we are, then, " replied Dr Nettleby. "He is probably outof his mind, but it may quiet him. "

"Somos marineros Inglesas--we are English sailors, " I therefore cried inas shrill a key as I could to reach his ear, raking up the almostforgotten memories of my early years, and, I'm afraid, speaking very badSpanish. "Del buque de guerra el Candahar de la regna Ingleterra--webelong to Her Majesty's ship, _Candahar_!"

Bad Spanish or not, however, the poor fellow understood me. 

"Gracias a Dios!" he said, his wild eyes brightening with a gleam ofintelligence, as Mr Jellaby and Bill Bates, having unloosed him fromthe ropes by which he was seized up to the rigging, brought him acrossthe deck to the doctor, who at once put a small quantity of brandybetween his lips. "Habran llegado a tiempo. "

"What is that, eh?"

"`Thanks be to God, '" I replied, translating what he had said. "`You'vejust come in time. '"

"He never made a truer statement, " observed the doctor, significantly, as he plied him gently from time to time with the spirit, keeping hishand on his pulse the while. "In another half-hour he would have been adead man; for, his circulation is down to nothing!"

Presently, the effects of the brandy told upon the poor fellow and hesprang suddenly to his feet by a sort of spasmodic effort, knockingCorporal Macan backwards into the water which was washing about the deckaround us as he stood up. 

"Ah los marineros cobardes!" he cried. "Vamos printo, hascia abajo!"

"Hullo, Vernon, " said Mr Jellaby. "What's he talking about now, eh?"

"I believe he's referring to the crew who deserted the ship and left himbehind to his fate, sir, " I answered, "for he has spoken of the`cowardly sailors, ' as he calls them. I think they must have been curs, sir, to have left him to die tied up like that, sir!"

"Anything else, eh?"

"He also says, `be quick and look below. ' I suppose he means for us toexamine the vessel's hold. "

"Si si--yes, yes, " exclaimed the rescued man as I said this, seeming tounderstand what I suggested. "Abajo--abajo--go below! go below!"

He nodded his head also as he spoke, looking towards the after part ofthe wreck and pointing downwards with his finger; while a shudder ofhorror passed over his corpse-like face, the dark hair surrounding whichmade it look all the paler. 

"By Jove, I think there is something in what you say, my boy, " cried thelieutenant, moving away at once in the direction indicated as quickly ashe could, telling the coxswain to follow him. "I ought to haveoverhauled the cabin before. The sea is getting up again, I notice;and, we'll soon have to shove off from here if we wish to get back toour own ship again!"

The moment the Spaniard saw Mr Jellaby start off on this mission, hedrew a deep breath of satisfaction. 

"Buena, buena--good, good!" he murmured softly, as if talking tohimself. "Soy muy mal--I feel very ill!"

He then threw up his arms and dropped down as if he had been shot, Corporal Macan just catching him in time, crying out in a loud tone ashe fell, louder indeed than he had yet spoken, as if giving a peremptoryorder--

"Fonde el ancla!"

"Begorrah, I can't say to his ankles!" said the Irishman, notunderstanding of course what he said, and mistaking the sound of thewords. "Till him they're all right, sor. Faix it's all I can do tohould his arms, let alone his legs, sure!"

"Nonsense, Macan, " I cried, not able to keep from laughing. "He didn'tsay anything about his ankles, or legs either. "

"Thin, what did he say, sor, if ye'll excuse me for axin?"

"`Fonde el ancla, '" I replied, "means, you donkey, to `let go theanchor!'"

CHAPTER NINETEEN. 

MUTINY OR MURDER?

"Poor fellow!" said Dr Nettleby, on my thus translating the Spaniard'sexclamation for Corporal Macan's benefit. "I'm afraid he has droppedhis anchor in real earnest. "

"Oh, doctor, " I cried, "you don't mean that he is dead?"

"Not quite yet, but pretty nearly so, " he replied, feeling the man'spulse again and then putting his hand to his heart. "I do wish Jellabywould come out of that cabin; for, I should like to take our patient tothe ship at once and put him under treatment without further delay ashe's in a very bad way. I can't think what's keeping the lieutenant solong!"

"Shall I go and see, sir?"

"I wish you would, my boy. Really, I don't like the look of the weatherat all!"

"Faix, sor, naythor does I, sure, " I heard the corporal say as I turnedto go in search of Mr Jellaby, who having made his way to the afterpart of the vessel, with the coxswain, had been out of our sight now forsome time. "It'll be blowin' great guns in a brace of shakes, or I'm aDutchman, for the say is gettin' purty rough already, an', begorrah, it's wishin' I wor safe aboord the ould _Candahar_ agen, I am; ay, an'alongside ov the cook's galley sure!"

I could not catch what the doctor said in reply to this, being too muchoccupied in looking after my own safety while trying to pick my stepstowards the stern; for there was a lot of loose dunnage washingbackwards and forwards as the hulk rolled sluggishly from side to sideand tons of water continually came in as the waves broke over her, causing me to keep my weather eye open and clutch hold of every strayrope I could grip that was secured in any way to prevent me from goingoverboard. The noise of the wind and sea and creaking and groaning ofthe poor ship's timbers, too, was something awful. 

When I succeeded at last on getting aft, I found the entrance to thecabin from the deck was blocked by the wreck of the mizzenmast. 

By means of this, I climbed up on to the poop, the proper ladderbelonging to which had also been smashed by the fall of the spars fromaloft, as well as the covering of the booby hatch and skylight; ayawning chasm of splintered glass and broken framework only nowrepresenting the latter structure, while the former had disappearedentirely. 

The companion way, however, seemed still firm enough, although nearlyfilled up with fragments of wood and odds-and-ends of all sorts, besidesbeing about a foot or so of water over all at the bottom of thestairway; and, I was just on the point of adventuring down in my questof the lieutenant, when the latter emerged from the passage that ledinto the cabin or saloon below, followed by Bill Bates. 

Mr Jellaby's face was as pale as that of the man we had rescued. 

So was the coxswain's; and both seemed to start on seeing me as if I hadbeen a ghost. 

"Good heavens, my boy!" exclaimed the lieutenant. "How did you gethere?"

"The doctor sent me, sir, " I answered glibly. "He was getting anxiousabout you and thought something had happened. "

"By Jove, you gave me quite a turn after coming out of that infernal denthere!" he said with a shudder, pointing over his shoulder. "I neversaw such a sight in my life. Did you, Bates?"

"No, sir, " replied the coxswain. "I hopes to God, sir, I never shallagain, sir!"

"What is it, sir?" I asked, all my curiosity aroused. "May I come downand see the place, sir?"

"No, Vernon, it's not fit for a boy like you to look at such a horriblesight. Why, it would haunt your memory for months, as I'm sure it willmine!"

So saying, he began to mount the companion way towards me slowly, buthad hardly ascended a couple of steps when he came to a halt, looking upfor a moment as if undecided in his mind. 

"Stay; I think you may come down, youngster, after all, " he said atlength. "Perhaps it might be as well that you should see with your owneyes what Bates and I have seen; for, then you will serve as anadditional witness in the event of there being any future inquiry. Ihope you have a good strong stomach, my boy, and are not squeamish?"

"Oh, no, sir, " I rejoined as I followed him down the steps again to thegangway below, "I'm not squeamish. "

"Well, then, " he cried, throwing open the opposite door which gaveentrance to the cabin directly under the broken skylight, "look inthere!"

It was fortunate that I had a steady nerve and was not easilyfrightened, for the sight that met my gaze would have startled mostgrown-up persons, let alone one of my age!

The place was in as great confusion as the open deck above, the seahaving worked its ravages here as well as there and littered it withlumber of every description, which the water that had likewise gainedadmittance was washing about the floor, in company with the overturnedtables and chairs. 

Broken plates and dishes were mixed up with stray articles of clothing;while books and empty bottles, which, strangely whole, bobbed up anddown amidst the general ruin, floated in and out between the heavierdunnage. 

I noticed even a mandoline, with a blue riband attached to it cruisinground the bottles; which seemed quite out of its latitude there! But, this was not all. 

There was a strange, sickly smell in the room; and what was that lookingup at me from the rubbish-strewn deck close to where I stood by thecabin door?

I almost shrieked out as it caught my wandering glance, the eyes seemingto look right into mine, opened wide in one fixed stare. 

It was the face of a dead woman, over whose marble-like features thewater rippled as the ship lurched, tossing her long hair about as ifplaying with it and giving her the appearance of being alive. 

"Poor thing!" I whispered to Mr Jellaby, who was near me and alsogazing down at her, the presence of the dead making me drop my voice. "She was drowned, I suppose?"

"Murdered!" he replied laconically, drawing my attention to a terriblecut across her neck, which I had not observed before, almost severingthe head from the body. "Look there--and there, Vernon!"

I followed the motions of his directing hand, and saw, first, a poorlittle dead baby floating about in the corner of the cabin; and then, behind the door by which we had entered, the corpse of a big, handsomeman propped up against one of the lockers, in a kneeling position. 

The man was only half-dressed, being in his shirt and trousers, as ifcaught unawares, holding a cocked revolver yet in his rigid fingers, stretched out in steady aim; while, at the further end of the cabin, where there was another doorway, communicating apparently with the mainsaloon, lay four ruffianly-looking fellows, all with long Spanish knivesin their hands tightly clutched as if to strike. 

These scoundrels had evidently killed the lady and little baby, and hadthen been shot by the poor chap on his knees, before he had himselffallen a victim to the cowardly stab from behind of a fifth scoundrel. 

The latter he had got down, however, before he died; for, he waskneeling on his chest, as the second lieutenant pointed out to me priorto our leaving this chamber of horrors, though the villain's dagger wasstill sticking in the brave fellow's back. 

I could see this now for myself as a gleam of sunshine came down throughthe shattered skylight, showing up all the hideous details of the place, with the sides of the cabin and the bulkhead dividing it from thepassage, as well as the deck beams overhead, all spattered with blood;albeit, the water sluicing about below had removed all traces of the sadtragedy from thence long since. 

"Let us go now, " said Mr Jellaby, as soon as I had taken in all thesesickening surroundings, leading the way out of the accursed place. "Wehave stopped here long enough!"

"We have indeed, sir, " I replied, following him up the companion, withBill Bates bringing up the rear in silence. "But, what do you think hashappened, sir?"

"It's a case of mutiny first, most probably; and then, murder, " said thesecond lieutenant, gravely, stepping over the coaming of the hatchway onto the deck of the poop as he emerged from the companion way. 

"We'll never know the rights of it, however, unless the doctor managesto bring round that poor chap we released from the rigging, who musthave been tied up by the mutineers and thus escaped them somehow orother! I couldn't find a log-book or anything else in the cabin whichwould give us a scrap of information about the vessel or those belongingto her; and, all the rest of the wreck is under water--indeed, I don'tthink she's far off sinking. "

"Beg pardon, sir, " observed the coxswain, interrupting him. "The ship'sjust sent up our recall, and she's bearing away now to pick us up toleeward when we cast off from here, sir. "

"Yes, my man, I see, and I notice, also, she has sent down hertopgallants and taken in another reef, " returned Mr Jellaby, proceedingto work his way back amidships to those we had left there, wadingthrough the water and wreckage and tophamper strewing the waist. "Theold doctor, too, looks in a precious wax and is carrying on at a grandrate about our keeping him waiting, I bet. He's jawing away now to thatknowing hand of a marine of his; so the sooner we see about getting himaboard our old barquey again the better!"

He could not have come to a wiser conclusion, for the wind had increasedin force rapidly, even during the short interval since I had left thedeck, now blowing more than half a gale; while the sea was beginning torun high, breaking over the bows of the half-submerged hulk, sending upcolumns of spray that wetted us where we were and almost drenchingDoctor Nettleby and the corporal, who were attending to the poorSpaniard amidships, just under the lee of the mainmast. 

"You're a nice fellow!" cried the doctor to Mr Jellaby on ourapproaching near enough to hear what he said. "It won't be your faultif we're not all drowned here like rats in a hole and never reach theship. As for the cutter, I believe she's swamped already!"

He was in a fine rage, certainly; but, the lieutenant, whose good temperwas proof against any amount of irritability, soon calmed him down. 

"I beg your pardon, doctor, " he said, as he hailed the bowman of thecutter, which was not swamped as yet, although making very bad weatherof it, telling him to haul up alongside under the lee of the wreck. "Ireally beg your pardon, doctor, but I could not be any quicker; for thecaptain ordered me to examine the vessel and see if I could find herpapers. "

He thereupon described to Doctor Nettleby what the three of us had seenin the cabin; when that gentleman was as much shocked as we were. 

"Can I do anything, Jellaby?" he asked. "Are you sure they were alllifeless?"

"As dead as herrings, doctor. "

"Then there would be no use in my going down to see the poor creatures?"

"My dear sir, you couldn't do them an ounce of good, for they're longpast the reach of all human aid!" replied the lieutenant, while he gavea helping hand to Corporal Macan to lift up the still unconsciousSpaniard whom we had rescued, the sole survivor, so far as we knew, ofall those who had perhaps started gaily enough on their disastrousvoyage in the now dismantled and water-logged barque. "Besides, my deardoctor, we haven't got the time. If we don't clear out of this prettysharp, we'll all go below, I'm afraid! Steady there, Bates, with thatgrapnel rope! You'll have the boat coming broadside on against thewreck, if you don't take care and she'll be stove in. Be smart now andrig-out that clewline there to the brace-block at the end of theyardarm. It will serve to lower down this poor beggar into the boat, which you must all fend off. Let her just come under the sparhandsomely, without touching the side. "

These directions being carefully adhered to, we contrived, by usinggreat caution, though not without considerable risk, to lower down thealmost lifeless man into the cutter; after which we descended ourselves, Mr Jellaby being the last to leave the hapless hulk, letting go thegrapnel as he dropped into the sternsheets. 

The doctor and I caught him as he joined us, everyone else having enoughto do to keep the boat steady with the oars; while Bates, of course, wasbusy with the tiller, which he kept amidships. 

As the boat drifted past the low rail of the vessel, now almost levelwith the water, which partly sheltered us from the full force of thewind and waves, I had the opportunity, when we glided under the stern, to read her name emblazoned thereon in large gilt letters. 

It was _La Bella Catarina_. 

"Give way, men!" cried the lieutenant, on our getting out into the opensea the next moment beyond the hull of the derelict, the coxswainheading the cutter directly for our ship, which had run down to leewardof the wreck so that we could fetch her more easily. "Pull all you can, my lads. Our lives depend on it!"

We were about half-way towards the _Candahar_, which had gone about onthe port tack, beating to windward and coming up to meet us, the crew ofthe boat bending their backs and pulling their hardest till the stoutash blades nearly doubled in two with the strain, while the big, rollingsea raced after us, trying to catch us up; when, all of a sudden, theman holding the stroke oar on the after thwart uttered an exclamationwhich made the lieutenant look behind. 

"By Jove!" he cried, "we've had a narrow shave. "

The doctor and I both turned round at this. 

We were only just in time to see the ill-fated vessel which we had sorecently left, rear herself end on and sink beneath the waves, bowforemost!

CHAPTER TWENTY. 

"A BIT OF A BLOW!"

The doctor did not like the flippant way in which the lieutenant alludedto our providential escape. 

"You ought to thank God, Mr Jellaby, with all your heart that you havenot gone down in her, " he said in a grave and impressive tone, lookinghim full in the face. "It is far too serious a matter for you to speakof so lightly. Just think, man, we've only been saved by ahair's-breadth from death!"

The lieutenant, however, was incorrigible. 

"A miss is as good as a mile, doctor, " he rejoined with a laugh, whichmade all the boat's crew grin in sympathy, his devil-may-care philosophyappealing more strongly to their sailor nature than the doctor's moralreflections. "Stand by, bows!"

On this, the bowmen unshipped their oars with great care, so as not tocause any rocking; and, laying them in dexterously, faced round at thesame time, one holding a boathook ready and the other the grapnel with acoil of rope attached, prepared to fling it when we were near enough tothe ship. 

Our gallant vessel was plunging along athwart our course as if she meantto give us the go-by, the sea foaming up at her bows in a big wave thatcurled up in front of her forefoot and broke over her figurehead as shedipped, sending the surf high in the air in a sheet of foam over herforecastle. 

Those on board, though, had no intention of abandoning us, as we couldquickly see, had we needed any assurance on the point. 

Just as she was within half a cable's length of our starboard beam, wecould hear the sound of the shrill boatswain's pipe above the splash ofthe sea; when she came up to the wind so close to the cutter that itlooked as if she was going to run us down instanter. 

But, we knew better than that. 

"Way enough!" shouted Mr Jellaby; and, by an adroit turn of the tiller, the boat's nose shoved in under her lee to port into the slack watermade by her hull. "Be ready with that grapnel there forrud!"

There was no necessity, however, for using this, for Commander Nesbitthad stationed a man in the chains to watch for us; and, immediately werounded-in under the counter the seaman payed out a long grass ropeattached to a buoy, which, as it floated past the bowman was easily ableto pick up with his boathook and make fast beneath the thwarts of thecutter forwards. 

We were, by this means, hauled up alongside until we were right belowthe quarter, with the side of our noble vessel towering above us like agreat wall, and swinging over our heads; the creaking boat falls, oscillating backwards and forwards as if they were a couple ofpendulums, rendering it very difficult to hook on the cutter, especiallyas she was lifted up one moment by a wave passing under the keel to themain deck ports, and lowered the next down to the ship's bilge. 

But, at last, the task was accomplished, and then at the pipe of theboatswain, which we could now hear more clearly than before, the cutter, with all her crew and passengers still in her, was run up to the davitsand secured, the ship at once filling and bearing away on her courseagain, now close-hauled on the starboard tack. 

Captain Farmer was standing on the poop talking with the commander whenwe gained the deck; and, as Mr Jellaby at once went up to them to makehis report, while Dr Nettleby was busying himself with superintendingthe removal of the man we had rescued, who had not yet regainedconsciousness, down to the sick bay, a couple of other marines beingcalled to help the corporal, I thought I might as well go below also andshift my uniform, which was pretty nearly soaked through, making me feelvery cold and uncomfortable. 

This was a day of surprises. 

For, no sooner had I got down to my chest in the steerage and begun topeel off my wet clothes, than Ned Anstruther came up to me. 

I thought at first he was going to congratulate me on having got offfrom the wreck before she foundered, all on board, having, of course, seen her sink. 

But, greatly to my astonishment, my watch-mate raised a rope's-end whichhe held in his outstretched hand and proceeded to lay it across myshoulders; the beggar giving me several sharp cuts with the "colt" ere Irealised what he was up to. 

"That will teach you not to supplant me and go in my boat again, youyoung rascal!" he cried, pegging away merrily with the rope's-end on mybare back. "I intend to give you one of the best thrashings you everhad in your life for doing it!"

"What do you mean?" I exclaimed, trying to ward off the cuts with myarm. "Anstruther, you're mad, I think! I never wished to supplant you. It was the commander who would not let you go in the cutter, not I. "

"Oh, was it?" said he, ironically, still laying on as hard as he couldwith the rope's-end, which really stung me very much. "Well, as I can'tlick him, my joker, I shall lick you!"

"Will you?" I retorted; and, finding expostulation of no avail, I triedretaliation, commencing now to hit out with my fists in return. "Twocan play at that game, old fellow; and as you force me to do it, takethat and that!"

My action followed suit to my words, as I gave him a smart "one, two"with my left, which knocked him backwards against Mr Stormcock just asthe latter was coming out of the gunroom. 

"Hullo, what is this?" cried the master's mate, as Ned Anstruther, cannoned off his stomach, sending him flying across the deck from theship lurching. "Fighting again? By jingo, I never saw such a pack ofyoung gamecocks in my life. There was, cheeky little Tom Mills wantingto peg into that swab Andrews last night, and now here are you two at ithammer and tongs. Why, I thought you were chums and both of you in thesame watch, the very closest of friends. "

"Of course we are, " said I, laughing at the comicality of the situation, which struck me all of a moment. "Anstruther and I are very goodfriends. I'm sure I don't want to do him any harm. "

"So I should think, " replied Mr Stormcock, drily. "It looks uncommonlylike it, judging by the way you are slogging each other about! But comenow, I won't have any more of this. Shake hands and make it up at once, do you hear, or I'll report you to the commander. "

"Why, " exclaimed my antagonist, rubbing his eye ruefully, "CommanderNesbitt is the cause of it all!"

"Indeed!" said Mr Stormcock, with a whistle of surprise at thisextraordinary assertion. "How do you make that out?"

"Because he sent Jack Vernon in the first cutter in my place. "

"Oh, you ass! It was for that, then, that you were fighting this poorchap here, who I'm sure you ought to be grateful to for taking a verynasty job off your hands. See, he's not only wet to the skin, butnarrowly escaped going to the bottom, as you know; and now, in returnfor this kindness, you try to wop him, and end in getting wopped insteadyourself. Anstruther, you're an ass, and more than that, you're anungrateful ass; and I've half a mind to thrash you myself for yourconduct to Vernon!"

"I never thought of it in that light, " said Ned, holding out his fist tome in a different fashion to that in which I had presented mine to himshortly before. "Let us be friends again, old chap. I'm very sorry Istruck you, Jack; but I was so jealous of your going off in the cutterand angry at being left behind that I didn't think of what I was doing. "

"Well, I'm sorry I hit you, too, my dear Ned, " said I, shaking hands ina cordial grip. "I hope I didn't hurt you much. "

"You've only given me a black eye, which will make me go on the sicklist, " he replied with a grin. "I can't very well appear on thequarter-deck with the `Blue Peter' hoisted; for, the cap'en would noticeit in a minute and ask me how I came by it. "

"There would be no difficulty about that, " interposed Mr Stormcock;"you could tell him the commander gave it to you, for you said just nowhe was the cause of all the row, you know. "

This made us both laugh, and dinner being now ready, Ned Anstruther andI went into the gunroom together as soon as I had completed myinterrupted toilet. 

Here, sitting side by side, the best of friends, and enjoying our peasoup, no one looking at us not in the secret would have readily imaginedthat any such "little unpleasantness, " as I have described had justoccurred between us two; though, I am happy to be able to state, thiswas our first and last quarrel, Ned and I remaining the closest chumsever after and never subsequently having even a word squabble. 

During the afternoon, the wind veered to the north-west, blowingstronger after the sun passed the meridian and increasing hourly so muchin force that, at Four Bells, we hauled down the jib and close-reefedthe spanker, the mizzen topsail being also taken in at the same time. 

There was every indication of our having a gale, the barometer havingfallen considerably since the morning; while the sea got up more andmore and the horizon ahead became banked with a mass of blue-blackclouds as dark as night, patches of lighter vapour also scudding rapidlyacross the sky. 

At Six Bells things began to look serious, the wind now shrieking as ittore through the rigging and the heavy rolling waves to break inboard, washing the decks fore and aft; so, the hands were turned up to furl themainsail and take in the spanker. 

This relieved the ship somewhat; but, as she still laboured very much, the topsails were close-reefed and a reef taken in the foresail, the menbeing almost blown off the yards when aloft while doing this and havinghard work to get down safely on deck again when the job was done, theforce of the gale being such that they were flattened against therigging and had to hold on "by the skin of their teeth, " as sailor folksay. 

Even this amount of canvas, however, reduced though it was, presentlyproved too much for her; and the commander therefore gave the order tofurl the foresail and haul down the foretopmast staysail, a stormstaysail being set on the forestay to keep the vessel under steerage wayas she tore through the tempest-tossed water like a maddened thing, rolling her gunwales under and pitching sometimes to that extent thatshe seemed about to dive into the deep never to rise again. 

There were four men at the wheel; and yet, with all their exertion, itwas impossible to preserve a straight course, for the ship yawed fromside to side, as if seeking to escape the following seas that racedafter her, rearing their threatening crests right over the taffrail. 

So, fearing that we might get pooped, we now furled the foretopsail andlay-to under our close-reefed maintopsail and storm staysails; thusawaiting what might further be in store for us, although it did not thenseem possible that anything could be worse!

We were all soon undeceived, however, on this point; although we hadabout half-an-hour's let off, during which interval the commander andgunnery lieutenant employed themselves in having the guns secured withdouble breechings and stout seven-inch hawsers triced up along the decksin their rear, a separate tackle being bent on into this and passingunder the neck ring of each of the long thirty-two pounders, in order toprevent their taking charge and waltzing about amidships when the vesselrolled. 

Ay, and she did roll, too!

The decks also were battened down to keep out the floods of water, whichshe was continually taking in over the bows, from passing too freelybelow, where a considerable quantity had already, indeed, gone, makingus rather damp down in the steerage. 

Lifelines were likewise rove on the poop and upper deck, where it wasnow impossible to move a step without having something to lay hold of. 

This was not only on account of the heavy lurches the vessel gave fromport to starboard and then back again to port; but, the planks were wetand slippery, and besides, as she plunged and pitched, head to sea, great green, rolling waves would break on the forecastle and pour downinto the waist, rushing aft like a river and sweeping anyone off hislegs who was caught unprepared. 

The wind itself was blowing so strongly that I couldn't stand upright, having to shelter myself under the lee of the bulwarks when I was on thepoop. 

But, this was nothing to what came later, old Boreas then putting afresh hand to his bellows. 

Hardly had the guns been properly secured and everything made snug andfast below and aloft, when the gale recommenced with tenfold violence;constant squalls bursting over the ship, accompanied by showers of hailthat pattered on the planks like rifle bullets and took the skin off anyfellow's face that was exposed to it without protection. 

It made mine smart, I know!

In the midst of one of these sharp squalls, the maintopsail was blown topieces with a report that sounded as if a gun had been fired off closeto my ear; and, at the same moment, there was a loud crack heard fromthe top as if something had given way in addition to the sail. 

Nothing, though, could be done about this for the moment, more pressingbusiness being on hand; for, in consequence of the topsail giving, theship's head payed off and getting into the hollow of the sea sheprecious nearly rolled her masts out her in less time than one couldcount. 

"Down with that fore staysail, " shouted the commander through hisspeaking trumpet. "Look alive man and set the topsail at once!"

His voice could not be distinguished beyond the length of the trumpet heroared through; but the boatswain's mates passed on the order from handto hand until it reached the first lieutenant and the master, both ofwhom were stationed forwards, where it was instantly acted on and theship's head brought back to the wind. 

After this the storm staysail was rehoisted and we lay-to again incomparative safety. 

Mr Cleete, the carpenter, then went up into the maintop to see what hadhappened to cause the loud crack we had heard. 

He came back from his perilous journey with the unwelcome news that thetopsail yard had been sprung and was in a very ticklish state, thecarpenter adding that the spar ought to be fished as soon as possible orit might part company. 

It had to remain as it was, however, for the present, the commander notwishing to peril the men's lives needlessly by sending them aloft unlessit was absolutely necessary for the safety of the ship; for it was notany easy thing to shift such a big spar as the topsail yard in a gale ofwind. "If it chooses to go by the board before it could be seen to, "said he, "why, well and good, go it must, that's all!"

So Commander Nesbitt evidently thought, I was sure, from the way inwhich he shrugged his shoulders and pointed in dumb show aloft and thento the sea, when the carpenter tried to press the claims of the topsailyard on his notice. 

When the hands were sent down and the watch set at Eight Bells, to myinexperienced eyes the hurricane appeared to be at its height; thehowling of the wind and angry roar of the clashing waves beingabsolutely awful to listen to, drowning as they did every other sound onboard the ship on deck. 

Nor was it any the better below, the groaning of the timbers there, asof a lost soul crying out in its last agony, with the rattling ofcrockery and other mess gear, adding to the tumult without, made aperfect pandemonium of the gunroom. 

A fellow could not hear what another said, though it were shouted in hisear as loudly as the speaker could bawl; albeit some of my messmatescertainly had powerful lungs of their own--lungs which they were notchary of testing when occasion offered!

I turned in early; but, not being able to sleep for the racket that wasgoing on, I returned to the deck, remaining there in the most shelteredcorner I could find with Tom Mills, the two of us watching withspellbound attention until close on midnight the wonderful strugglebetween the spirits of the air and the demons of the deep--thepale-faced moon shining out occasionally from the dark vault of theheavens overhead, lighting up the stormy sea that served as thebattle-ground of the storm fiends with her sickly gleams and making itseem like a field of snow, its vast expanse being covered with yeastyfoam as far as the eye could reach. 

The gale lasted all that night and the following day; when, late in theevening, the weather commenced to moderate, the wind calming downfinally towards the close of the middle watch next morning. 

It had then been blowing for thirty-six hours, during the whole of whichtime neither Captain Farmer nor the commander had left the deck; whilemost of the officers and men also had remained up on duty, it being acase almost of "all hands" from the beginning of the tempest to its end!

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE. 

THE SPANISH CAPTAIN'S STORY. 

When I went up on deck that morning I could hardly believe my eyes, onseeing that the storm and all its wild surroundings had miraculouslydisappeared; for, the sun was shining brightly on a blue sea that seemedto ripple with laughter and the good old ship was speeding along underall plain sail, looking none the worse for the buffeting she hadexperienced only a few hours before!

"Rather a change from yesterday, ain't it, youngster?" observed MrGilham, who was officer of the watch, addressing me kindly, noticing theexpression of astonishment on my face as I glanced up aloft and thenover the side. "Things look a little more ship-shape than they werethen. "

"Yes, sir, " I replied. "But what a fearful gale it was!"

"Pooh, nonsense, Vernon!" cried he, with a laugh. "Don't overlay youryarns like that. We've certainly had a bit of a blow, but I've seen itmuch worse crossing the bay!"

Of course, I could not contradict him; and, I may here mention that onnarrating the circumstance to Dad on my return home some timeafterwards, he said that he had never known a sailor acknowledgeanything unusual about a storm at the immediate moment of itsoccurrence, or even shortly afterwards. 

All those with whom he had ever been brought in contact, Dad told me, might possibly allow that the wind was "freshening, " perhaps, or"blowing stiffly, " or "inclined to be rough"; but, a gale or a hurricanethey would never admit, in spite of the fact of its "blowing great gunsand small-arms!"

Should anyone, Dad also said, incautiously hazard some definite opinionon the state of the weather, any seaman thus spoken to would invariablyrecall a previous occasion within his own experience when it was reallybad enough to speak about--it being the rule with all true sons of thesea to minimise danger and laugh at the perils they have escaped, instead of making mountains out of molehills in the manner natural tomost landsmen!

Besides thus upsetting my ideas as to the terrible ordeal we had gonethrough, concerning which, however, I held to my own view in spite ofhis protest to be contrary, although, of course, I did not tell him so, Mr Gilham informed me that we had suffered no serious damage beyond theinjury to the topsail yard. 

This, he said, too, was much less than Mr Cleete, the carpenter, hadmade out, that worthy being one of the sort of men who always take adespondent view of everything. 

The spar, however, was sent down and replaced by a spare yard which wecarried; and everything was all right aloft now. 

We had lost something in another way, though; for, when Mr Quadranttook the sun at noon, with all of us youngsters standing round him withour sextants, like a parcel of chickens gathered about an old hen, whichindeed the master greatly resembled with his shock head of hair andfussy manner, the ship was found to be in latitude 44 degrees 5 minutesnorth and longitude 7 degrees 50 minutes west. 

She had been driven to the south-east by the gale, aided by the drift ofthe current setting in to the Bay of Biscay. 

This was more than two hundred miles out of our proper track, and fartoo much to the eastward to be able to weather the northern extremity ofthe Spanish coast, which would soon be perilously near to us, running aswe then were to the sou'-sou'-west. 

Fortunately for us, though, the wind had now veered to the southward;and, as we were sailing on the port tack, by giving the ship a good dealof weather helm and bracing round the yards, we were able to bear up tothe westward out of the ill-omened bay, steering west by south until wewere in longitude 11 degrees 10 minutes west and well clear of CapeFinisterre, when we hauled our wind and shaped a course direct forMadeira. 

This, however, was not until next day; and, I recollect, after we luffedup again and bore to the southward, a lot of talk went on in the gunroomat dinner-time about the probability of our stopping or not at thatbeautiful island, the gem of the Atlantic. 

"I say, Jack Vernon, " sang out Larkyns to me, across the table, "Isuppose you know why it is called Madeira?"

"No, " I replied. "Why?"

"Well, " he began, "it is rather a romantic story--"

"Then, I shouldn't think it can be much in your line, " interrupted MrStormcock, who somehow or other was always down upon any chap for everstarting a yarn. "You tell very practical ones; only, instead of theterm `story' I would use a shorter and more expressive word. "

"Say `lie' if you like; I know you mean it, " rejoined Larkyns, in no wayput out by the rude insinuation and continuing his narrative quitecomposedly. "But, you're wrong in this case, old Stormy, for `faix it'sno lie I'm telling you now, ' as the doctor's Irish marine would say. It's the plain, unadulterated truth. I had the tale from a Portuguesemonk at Funchal. "

"Funchal, " put in Mr Fortescue Jones, the assistant-paymaster, caressing his whiskers as usual and cocking his eye as if he were goingto catch Larkyns tripping. "When were you there?"

"In the _Majestic_, when I was a cadet, " promptly returned the mid, taking up the cudgels at once. "It was in the same year you were triedby court-martial for breaking your leave!"

This was a "settler" for poor Mr Jones. 

"Go on, Larkyns, " I said, at this point, to change the conversation andcover the paymaster's confusion as he bent his head over his plate. "Iwant to hear that yarn of yours about Madeira. "

"All right, Johnny, " he replied in his chaffy way; "only, you don'tpronounce the name right, my son. It should be called `My-deary, ' not`Madeir-ah. ' Hang it all, Stormcock, stow that!"

"Don't apologise, " said the master's mate, who just at that instant hadthrown a biscuit at Larkyns, causing the violent interjection which heinterpolated in his story. "I thought I would supply the properaccentuation for you, that's all. "

"If you don't look out and leave me alone, I will pretty soon accentuateyour nose, Stormy, " retorted the other, all good humour again, as healways was; for he took a joke, even of the most practical sort, asfreely as he perpetrated one. "Yes, Johnny Vernon, it should be called`My-deary, ' and I'll tell you why. The island, so the monk told me, owes its origin, or rather discovery, to two lovers who fled thither inthe year fourteen hundred and something. One of these lovyers, my youngfriend, was a Scotchman named Robert Matchim, and the other was a MissAnna D'Arfet, a young lady residing at Lisbon, whose parents objected toRobert and refused to match her with Matchim. "

Mr Stormcock pitched another biscuit immediately at Larkyns, crying outat the same time--

"That's for your bad pun!"

The wag, however, dodged it and proceeded with his yarn. 

"Being a Scotchman, although poor, as few of the nation are, " proceededhe, aiming this retaliatory shot at the master's mate, who, he knew, hailed from the North and hadn't a spare bawbee to bless himself with, "our friend, Robert Matchim, being as brave as he was bold, would not bedone by a pitiful Portuguese laird. So, he pawned the title-deeds ofhis ancestral estates in Skye, where I forgot to mention he lived whenat home; and, chartering a caravel, which happened luckily to be lyingat anchor off the port at the time, smuggled his sweetheart on board andsailed away--with the intention of eloping to France, where her sternparyent would, he thought, be unable to follow him for certain politicalreasons. "

"Very good so far, " interposed Mr Stormcock again at this point, in anironical tone. "Pray go on; it is most interesting!"

"Glad you like it, " said Larkyns, coolly, without turning a hair. "Well, then, to finish the story. Very unfortunately for these fondlovyers, a storm arose, like that bit of breeze we had t'other day. This blew them out of their course and they lost their reckoning, landing at this very island, of which we are speaking instead of at someFrench port as they expected. The spot they pitched on was calledMachico Bay on the eastern side; and there they lived happy ever after, having the additional satisfaction after departing this life of beingboth buried in one grave. Their last resting-place was seen by a partyof Spaniards who subsequently re-discovered the island; when thesesentimental mariners, noting the names of the aforesaid lovyers on theirjoint tombstone, and the account there detailed of their strangeadventures, very romantically and devoutly erected a chapel to theirmemory. This chapel exists to this very day and can be seen by you, Stormy, or any other unbeliever in the truthfulness of my yarn! It isfor this reason, my worthy Johnny, that I insist that the island shallbe properly styled `My-deary'; for, as Robert loved Anna, he wouldnaturally have addressed her as `My-deary. ' Do you twig, young 'un, eh?"

"Oh, yes, " I answered with a snigger, "I think, though, it's ratherfar-fetched. "

"So it is, " said he. "It came from Madeira; and that's some six hundredmiles, more or less, from where we now are. "

At that moment, Corporal Macan appeared at the door of the gunroom andwalked up to where I was sitting. 

"If you plaize, sor, " he said, pulling his forelock, "the docthor wouldloike to say yez in the sick bay. "

"Indeed, Macan, " I cried. "Do you know what he wants me for?"

"The jintleman we tuk off the wrack's rekivered his sinses, an' none ovus, sure, can under-constubble his furrin lingo barrin' yersilf, sor. So, the docther wants ye fur to say what he's jabberin' about. "

"All right, " said I, bolting as quickly as I could a piece of "plumduff" which Dobbs had just brought me. "Tell the doctor I'm coming. "

"By jingo, talk of the devil!" observed Larkyns, bursting into a laughas Macan turned to go away. "Why, I was only just talking of thatblessed Irish marine a minute ago, and here he has come on the scene inperson, with his rum brogue. "

"Hush!" I said. "He'll hear you. "

"No matter if he does, " rejoined Larkyns. "I suppose he knows he hasgot the Cork brogue strong enough to hang a cat-block from. Besides, hewon't mind what I say. "

"Faix, that's thrue for yez, sor, " muttered the corporal, who caughtthis remark as he was going out of the gunroom door, his ears being assharp as those of a fox. "Begorrah, it's moighty little onyone ivverdoes mind what ye says at all, at all!"

With which doubtful compliment, capable of a double construction, Corporal Macan marched on in front of me, holding his head very erectand with a broad grin on his face, as if conscious of carrying off thehonours of the war, towards Dr Nettleby's sanctum on the main deck. 

Here, on entering, I noticed the Spaniard sitting up in one of thedoctor's easy chairs. 

He was near an open port, looking very different to what he was the lasttime I had seen him, a healthy colour being now in his face; althoughthis was still very much drawn and careworn, but his black hair andbeard were tidily arranged, much improving his personal appearance. 

He raised his eyes as I came into the cabin, and smiled faintly, seemingto recognise me somehow or other, though he was certainly off his headon board the wreck and could not have remembered what took place there. 

"He, senor muchaco--so, young gentleman, " said he, on my approachingnearer to him. "Ta hablas Espanola--you speak my language then?"

"Si, senor--yes, sir, " I replied. "Un poco--a very little!"

His face instantly brightened, and he poured out a flood of Spanishwhich I could hardly follow, he spoke so quickly; although, I couldgather that he wanted to know where he was and how he had been rescued, inquiring as well what had become of the rest who were in the ship withhim. 

The doctor, to whom I tried to translate what he said, cautioned me tobe very careful what I told him in reply; for, the man, he said, wasstill in a critical state and any sudden shock would retard hisrecovery. 

I was, therefore, very guarded in my answers to his questions, lettingout all he wished to learn only little by little, as he drew it from meby his interrogations. 

He expressed the most fervent gratitude on my narrating how we hadboarded his water-logged vessel and the difficulty Mr Jellaby had inreleasing him from his dangerous position; and, he bowed his thanks toDoctor Nettleby, addressing him as "Senor Medico--Mr Doctor, " for hiskind care of him. 

But, when I came to describe what the lieutenant and I had seen in thecabin, his manner changed at once; his eyes rolling with fury and histhin, nervous hands clenching in impotent rage and despair, and he triedto stand up, raising himself out of the chair. 

"Ay la povera senora--oh, the poor lady!" he cried out, his eyes nowfilling and his mouth working with emotion, which he vainly tried tosuppress as I told him of the poor dead lady and the little babyfloating about on the floor, both of them murdered--"E la pequina nina--and the little child, too!"

On my telling him next, in answer to another question, about thefine-looking fellow with the revolver in his hand, his feelings could nolonger be suppressed. 

"Mi hermano! Oh, my brother!" he exclaimed, bursting into tears. "Muerto! muerto! dead, dead!"

Doctor Nettleby and I turned away, it being painful in the extreme tosee a grown man such as he crying like a child; for his breast washeaving and his shoulders shaking with the sobs he endeavoured toconceal, and he hid his face in his hands as he leant back again in thechair. 

After a bit, on his becoming more composed again, the doctor gave him astimulant, which quieted his nerves. 

Just then the captain came in, followed by Lieutenant Jellaby, to makeinquiries, the doctor having reported his patient convalescent. 

"El capitano--this is the Captain, " said I, to attract his attention tothe new arrivals as they advanced up to his chair. "El capitano delnostro buque--the captain of our ship!"

I also pointed out in like fashion Mr Jellaby, saying that he was theofficer who had effected his rescue; and the Spaniard bowed silently toboth. 

Captain Farmer, however, did not need any introduction from me, for hespoke the other's language fluently, being a most accomplished linguist;so, he and the poor fellow were soon on the best of terms, the survivorfrom the wreck proceeding presently to tell the succinct history of theill-fated vessel. 

This we had all been longing to hear; and Captain Farmer now translatedit word for word for the benefit of the doctor and Mr Jellaby, who, asI have already said, did not understand the original Spanish in which itwas rendered. 

The Spaniard said that his name was Don Ferdinando Olivarez and that hehad been the captain and part owner of the barque, which was bound fromCadiz to Havana with a cargo of the wines of Xeres. She had on board, besides, a large quantity of specie, which the Spanish Government weresending out for the payment of the troops in Cuba. 

"Your ship was named _La Bella Catarina_, senor, " said I, at this point, as he had not mentioned this fact, though I don't think Captain Farmerapproved of my interruption, for he gave me a look which made me shut upat once, "was she not sir?"

"Yes, young gentleman, " he replied. "She was so-called after my poorsister-in-law, the murdered lady whose body you saw in the cabin whichproved her tomb--Ay que hermosa esta--oh, how beautiful she was! Shewas the wife of my only brother, Don Pedro Olivarez, who died indefending her. Thus his corpse you also beheld. Oh, my friends, he wasthe noblest, best and bravest brother in the world. He had, alas, ajoint share with me in that accursed vessel. "

He was overcome with emotion again when he had got so far; and DrNettleby, fearing the narration was too much for him in his present weakstate, wanted him to leave off his story until he felt better. 

But after resting a minute or two and taking another sip of the cordialthe doctor handed him, the Spaniard insisted on going on with thepainful recital. 

His brother, he said, had charge of the specie sent out in their ship;and, as his wife had been recommended change of air, he determined totake her with him on the voyage to Cuba, thinking the trip out and homewould do her good, as well as the poor little baby, who had been onlyborn two months to the very day on which they sailed from Cadiz. 

All went well with them until they were near the Azores, or WesternIslands, where the ship sprang a leak and met with such baffling windsthat she was driven back to the eastward, close in to the Portuguesecoast; when the crew, who were tired out with keeping to the pumps, managed to broach the cargo and madden themselves with the liquor theyfound below. 

"What happened next?" asked Captain Farmer, on his pausing here to takebreath and put the cordial to his lips. "I suppose they got drunk onthe sherry, my friend?"

"Ah, yes, los maladettos--the cursed devils!" replied the Spanishcaptain, his eyes flashing with anger. "If the brutes had only gotdrunk, neither my brother nor I would have minded it much, although theymight have done so at our expense, it being our wine which they wasted, the brutes!"

He then went on to state that the men became so violent andinsubordinate, that when his brother and himself battened down thehatches to prevent their broaching any more of the casks, they brokeinto open mutiny. 

The mate was the ringleader of the conspiracy. 

It was this rascal, he said, who informed the crew that they had specieaboard, which the mutineers now demanded should be given up to them andthey be allowed to leave the ship in one of her boats, the mate tellingthem that the vessel was almost in sight of Vigo--a fact which he, thecaptain, had only disclosed to him in confidence that very day within anhour or so of the outbreak, so that the mutiny appeared to be a plannedthing. 

"Well, " said Captain Farmer, "what did you do then?"

"We refused their insolent demand, of course, " he answered, "in spite ofthe mate and another scoundrel drawing their knives and making for us. My brother knocked down Gomez at once, and the sailor I kicked into thescuppers; the two of us then retreated to the cabin, where we kept themat bay for the whole of that night and all the following day, as we hadwith us all the firearms in the ship, and it was out of their power todislodge us. "

"And how was it then you did not succeed in getting the upper hand ofthem in the end, instead of the affair turning out as it did?"

In reply to this question from our captain, the Spaniard's emotion againovercame him. 

"Ay, it was all my fault, and I of all men am the most miserable!" hecried. "Yo, I it was who caused the death of those I loved best!"

"Carramba, Senor Capitano, " said Captain Farmer, trying to soothe him. "You do yourself an injustice. I can't see where you were to blame!"

"Ah, but I do, " he answered doggedly, as if he had made up his mind onthe point and no argument would persuade him to the contrary. "I oughtto have recollected that there was no water or provisions in the cabin, the steward, who had joined the mutineers, keeping these always in thefore part of the ship; and, there was the poor senora, who had herlittle baby to nurse, suffering from hunger and thirst, as we could see, my brother and I, although she never uttered a word of complaint!"

"Poor, brave lady, " observed the captain. "She deserved a better fate!"

"Si, si, yes, yes, " said the other, "She did not complain--no, never;but, how could we stand by and see her suffer? My brother Pedro, whenit came on to nightfall on the close of the second day of our blockadein the cabin, said that he would adventure out in search of food andwater, the mutineers then having drunk themselves to sleep. I, however, pointed out that he had a wife and child dependent on his life, while Ihad no claims on mine and insisted on my right to take the risk, themore especially from my being the master of the ship. Still, he wouldnot give in; and, ultimately, we cast the dice to decide the matter andI won the cast. "

"You then left the cabin?"

"Yes, senor. My brother barricaded the door behind me and kept watchwith his revolver, while I crept forwards stealthily. I reached thesteward's pantry in the deckhouse amidships, without being seen andsecured some polenta and a baraca of water; when, as I was creeping aftagain and close to the poop, that villain of a mate caught hold of myarm, pointing a stiletto in my face at the same time, and threatening tostab me if I uttered a cry. But, before I could open my mouth, heshoved a gag in it and then proceeded to drag me to the side of theship, lashing me to the spot whence your two officers released me somethree days afterwards, if my calculation is correct. "

"Good heavens!" exclaimed the captain. "What agony you must havesuffered tied up like that, and without anything to eat or drink, Isuppose, all the while?"

"Nothing, not a bite or drop, passed my lips from the time of the nightof the mutiny until your brave officers and men, Senor Capitano, sonobly came to my assistance. "

"You must then have been quite five days without sustenance, " saidCaptain Farmer, astonished at his endurance. "I wonder you livedthrough it, with all that exposure to the weather, too!"

"Ah, it was nothing. I did not think of myself, " replied the other. "Iwas in torture for my brother and his poor wife and little child, for, as soon as I was gagged and bound, I saw Gomez and six of the villainsall draw their knives and start towards the poop; and, presently, Iheard the shriek of a woman's voice which I recognised as my sister's, the senora, and then four pistol-shots in rapid succession, after whichI don't know what happened for a time. I must have lost my senses orfainted. "

"And then?"

"When I came to myself again, " continued the Spanish captain, as we alllistened breathlessly to his narrative, "it was near morning and thelight of the coming dawn beginning to show in the eastern sky; so, hearing a lot of talking and quarrelling going on, I looked towards theforecastle, whence the sound seemed to proceed. "

"Well, " said Captain Farmer, who was as interested apparently as I was, "what did you see?"

"I saw a lot of the crew sitting round a tub of brandy, some of which wehad shipped along with the wine as part of our cargo, although it hadescaped their observation at first, being stowed low down, under thecasks of the sherry. However, they had discovered it now, and hadevidently been having an orgie, all of them being more than half drunk. They were swearing and fighting, playing cards by the dim light of oneof the ship's lanterns, which was stuck up on the deck beside them. Inoticed, too, that a heap of gold was piled up on top of an empty brandytub, standing to the right of the man dealing the cards, which showedthat they had managed to break open the treasure chest containing thegovernment specie; and, I was in an agony of apprehension about mybrother's fate, not to speak of his wife and child, when, with a wildshout, one of the villains threw down his cards and clutched at the pileof gold, scrambling up on his feet at the same time and making for theside of the ship where I was lashed against the bulwarks. It was thatscoundrel Gomez. "

"The mate, eh?"

"Yes, Senor Capitano. He had a revolver, I saw, in his hand, which hemust have got from the cabin after murdering my brother. This thoughtflashed through my mind instantly, and as it did so, the wretch advancednearer to the break of the forecastle and fired at me, calling out atthe same time, `Carramba, I've settled your dog of a brother and now Iam going to finish you off!' The good God, however, defeated hispurpose, for the bullet did not penetrate my brain as he intended. No, strange to say, it shot away the knot of the rope's-end that was passedacross my mouth to gag me, relieving me at once from considerable pain. "

"Did he not fire again?"

"No, " replied the Spaniard, his countenance lighting up with a sort offerocious joy that made me think for the moment he had gone suddenly madat the recollection of his past sufferings. "Before the villain couldaim a second shot in my direction, the most wonderful thing happenedthat, I believe, could ever have occurred. Yes, Senor Capitano, Ideclare to you, it was the most wonderful thing, now that I recall itagain in speaking to you, that I have ever heard of in all my life. Ay, so wonderful and providential, that it would seem incredible to me wereI not certain by this very occurrence, which has brought it home to me, that there is a Power above which watches over us and preserves us fromdanger, no matter how imminent that danger may be, and when the help ofman is of no avail; a Power, too, that as frequently punishes the wickedin the very act of their wickedness, as happened in this case. "

At that moment, the sentry who always stood on guard without the door ofthe sick bay entered the cabin, and saluting Captain Farmer, said thefirst lieutenant wished to speak to him; whereupon the captain, apologising for having to absent himself at such a critical point, atonce withdrew, saying that he would not be long away. 

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO. 

"A DIOS!"

"I can quite believe you, senor, " said Captain Farmer on his returnafter a very brief interval, resuming the thread of the discourse as ifno interruption had occurred. "Pray continue your story. I am dying toknow what happened to checkmate that scoundrel of a mate as he was goingto take another shot at you, thus defeating the design of the murderingruffian. "

"Without doubt, Senor Capitano, I will tell you, " replied the Spaniard, drawing a long breath as he recommenced his yarn. "As the villain Gomezcocked and raised the revolver again--for I could see him plainly fromthe light of the ship's lantern flashing on the barrel--Dios! Iperceived under the sheet of the foresail, which was flapping looselyabout, for we were becalmed and the vessel was drifting aimlessly as shepleased, the mutineers taking no heed of anything but their accurseddrink--I perceived, I say, a steamer approaching, end on and goingapparently at full speed. I could have shouted out to warn the men onthe forecastle, for the gag had been miraculously removed from my mouth, as I have told you, only a minute or so. But, Carramba, I would nothave lifted my voice to have saved them, had I possessed a hundredmouths; for, I thought of my brother and his wife and child, and Iexulted at their coming fate--Dios! My heart was throbbing with joy. "

"How awful, " said Captain Farmer, on the Spaniard's voice failing him atthe terrible recollection of his experiences; "but, I can sympathisewith you. "

"Es Verdad, it was awful--so awful, that my heart was nigh bursting andmy brain seemed on fire, " replied the other in a calmer tone. "However, I had not long to wait, the whole thing, from the first moment Iobserved the steamer to the collision, lasting barely a second of time, although to me it was an eternity; for, as I saw the steamer, and heardthe sound of her paddle-wheels, even as the villain Gomez aimed at me, the prow of the avenging vessel--which I regarded then, as now, as aninstrument in the hand of God--came crashing into the bows of our ship, cutting through her hull and deck, and crumpling up the forecastle, senor, as if it had been a paper bag. "

"And the mutineers?"

"Carramba!" cried the Spaniard, whose vindictiveness I thoughtappalling; only, of course, one had to make allowances for what he hadsuffered and the crimes the men of whom he spoke had committed. "Theywere all mangled and crushed in a moment, in the midst of their game ofmonte, as they were fighting and quarrelling over the stakes. Thevillain Gomez had his skull cracked like an eggshell by the foremastcoming down on top of him, as it went by the board with all its yardsand gear. The maintopmast, then fell also leaving _La Bella Catarina_the wreck you saw, Senor Lieutenant, and you, young gentleman, beforeshe foundered. "

He bowed to Mr Jellaby, as well as to myself, on saying this, as if toemphasise his description. 

"Did not the steamer stop?"

"No, Senor Capitano, " replied he in answer to this question of CaptainFarmer's. "Everybody must have been asleep aboard, I think, just beforeit happened, and they had no lookout man on the watch; although as itwas in the early grey of the morning, and we had no lights except thatlantern on the forecastle, which could not have been seen at anydistance, and was, of course, extinguished in the general smash-upafterwards, it was perhaps not to be wondered that they ran us down. The collision, though, appeared to wake them up, for I saw a dark figureon the paddle-box nearest to me as the steamer swung herself clear of usand forged ahead again. She had a good deal of way on, and by the timeshe stopped her engines she was some distance away and lost to sight inthe darkness, there being a slight surface fog on the water; so, hearingnothing and seeing nothing of us, her people must have come to theconclusion that we had gone to the bottom, and so put her on her courseagain. "

"Why, " inquired the captain, "did not those wretched scoundrels cry outwhen the steamer came on them like that?"

"How could they? It was all done in a moment, as I have told you. Oneinstant the devils were there, gambling and drinking and swearingamongst themselves, and the next, cr-r-r-ash, and they were gone totheir patron saint below!"

"And then you were alone?"

"Yes, so far as I knew; but I was not quite certain yet that thescoundrel Gomez had not lied merely to sport with my misery, and that, perhaps, my poor brother might be still alive. However as the hourswore on without him ever making his appearance, and the crash of thecollision would have well-nigh wakened the dead, I gave up hope, beginning to wonder then, as the sun rose up and the sea becameillumined with light, whether some passing vessel might not sight thewreck and bear down to rescue me. By-and-by, though, on morning meltinginto day, and, later on, the afternoon waning on the approach of theshades of night, without ever a distant sail coming in sight to banishmy despair, this hope, too, fled. "

"You saw nothing, then?"

"Nothing but the seagulls, which swooped down over my head to seewhether I were alive or dead; and it was fortunate my hands were free, or else they would have pecked out my eyes. Nothing but these and theboundless waste of the ocean, whose waters lapped the sides of the ship, which kept afloat, much to my surprise. Her buoyant cargo supportedher, although her hold was full up to the main deck, and the sea washingin and out of her forwards; and, there was I, tied up there in therigging like a dog, listening to the melancholy sound of the breakingwaves. I was, you must recollect, utterly unable to help myself, for myarms were pinioned like my legs, although my hands were loose and Icould move them about: but, otherwise, I was powerless and could notstir from the place where I was lashed, the ropes binding me being justsecured beyond my reach by that villain Gomez, so as to make my agonyall the greater. "

"It must have been fearful, " said Captain Farmer. "I wonder your braindid not give way. "

"Thanks be to God, no! My reason was preserved throughout this terribleordeal for some wise purpose or other; though, I must say, I prayed fordeath to release me from my sufferings, a maddening thirst now consumingme, to add to the torture that was preying on my mind, " replied theother, shuddering at the recollection. "At last, the wind began to blowmore strongly and the sea to get up. This lessened my pangs of thirst;but, the waves, constantly breaking over the side, almost drowned me, soone evil took the place of another, and this was all the benefit Ireaped from the change. It must have been the following day, I think, for I became so numbed with the cold and exposure, the circulation of myblood being arrested by my cramped position, that I took no heed how thetime went, when a ship at length hove in sight, and my heart began tobeat again with renewed hope, in spite of my despairing thoughts andmisery. Oh, heavens! The ship came nearer and nearer, so that I couldsee she was a vessel of war belonging to the French nation, and mytorturing hope became a certainty. But, would you believe it, senor, when she had closed the wreck so that I could see the gun-ports on herupper deck, she luffed up and bore away again, hoisting her tricolourflag, which I shall always loathe the sight of now, as if in mockery ofmy condition. Fancy, deserting a shipwrecked man like that!"

"The commander of this very ship stopped us to say he had sighted thewreck of your vessel; but, unhappily, he was unable to lay-to to send aboat aboard, " explained Captain Farmer, to excuse the French captain'sconduct. "If he had not done this, perhaps we would never have comeacross you and been able to take you off, which I am heartily glad wewere fortunate enough to succeed in doing!"

"Gracias, senor, " rejoined the Spaniard, stretching out his hand, whichour captain gripped in cordial interchange of friendship, "but _you_ didnot tell another ship to go to my rescue, _you came yourself_! TheEnglish are always brave and generous!"

"By Jove, he's right about that French ship, " observed Mr Jellaby tome, aside, when the captain had translated this remark of the Spaniard, leaving out, however, his personal compliment to himself and our nation. "It was a scurvy trick to sail off like that, without examining thewreck. But it's just like those Johnny Crapauds, youngster. They'redeuced good fair-weather friends but never stand by a fellow indistress!"

"I have not much more to tell you, " went on the Spaniard after thoselittle reciprocities between him and the captain. "It was one morningthat the French vessel abandoned me and the next that yours came to myhelp. Dios, I could not believe I was in my senses when I heard thevoices of your officers! I thought I was in a state of delirium andthat the sight of your ship, especially after the disappointment of thepreceding day, was only a mirage of my imagination, like the FataMorgana!"

"But, you hailed us, sir, " I said here, on the captain motioning me tocome forward. "Why, you answered me when I spoke to you, sir!"

"I may have done so, my dear young gentleman, " he replied with a faintsmile, patting me on the head in an affectionate sort of way, as if hewere caressing a pet poodle, so at least Mr Jellaby said afterwards tothe other fellows; "but, I have no recollection of it, I assure you. Still, I must say that your voice seemed familiar to me just now, whenyou first came into the cabin here and addressed me. It seemed to me avoice that I had heard in a dream. "

He then proceeded to compliment me on my Spanish, saying, in truehidalgo fashion, that I spoke it better than himself, which, as MrJellaby remarked, had to be taken "with a good deal of side on!"

Don Ferdinando Olivarez, to give him his rightful name, concluded hisnarrative by asking Captain Farmer to land him at Madeira, where he hadfriends who would supply all his needs, giving him the means to returnhome to Cadiz, to which port, he said, he must go back for businessreasons; besides having to report the loss of his ship, though, as headded with a sigh, he no longer had a "home" there, now that his poorbrother was dead, for he was the last of his race!

Of course, the captain promised to comply with his request, explainingthat, although he had not intended stopping at the island, we would inany case have passed pretty close to it in our passage to the Cape; andthat he would be only too glad to call in and put our passenger ashore, regretting, however, that he should have to lose the pleasure of hiscompany so soon. 

Dr Nettleby at this point interrupted any further exchange ofcivilities between the captain and the Spaniard, who was profuse in histhanks, declaring that his patient required rest, or he would not beable to go ashore either at Madeira or any other place on this planet. 

The stern medico, who had been very much interested in Don Ferdinando'sstory, or he would never have permitted so much talking, then bundled usall incontinently out of the sick bay, Captain Farmer included. 

Four days later we arrived off Funchal, passing, at the easternextremity of the island, Machico Bay, where the lovers mentioned byLarkyns landed and lived and died, according to the legend. This, theSpanish captain said was quite true, for he had seen the grave himselfand the little church erected to their memory, a statement that quitedelighted our friend Larkyns, as he was able to throw it in the teeth ofMr Stormcock as soon as he heard it, in refutation of the base calumnyof the latter in asserting that he had invented the yarn he told us atmess. 

I was very sorry when Don Ferdinando left the ship, for his misfortunesand the fact of my having been in the boat that rescued him, made himseem like an old friend whom I had known for years, although we had onlybeen such a short time acquainted. 

He was very kind, too, in noticing me; and, before he was rowed ashorein the captain's gig, he presented me with a real gold medallion withthe image and superscription stamped thereon of Saint Nicholas, theprotector of all sailors. The Spanish captain told me that this hadoriginally belonged to the great navigator, Christopher Columbus, ofwhom he was a distant descendant, and that it had been in his family forgenerations. He had always worn it, he said, next his heart as apreservative against shipwreck, and he fervently believed it was owingto his having it on him that he had been so miraculously saved wheneveryone else who had been on board _La Bella Catarina_ with him hadperished. 

His now giving it to me was the most practical proof of his friendshiphe could offer, as he valued it beyond anything he possessed, and I onlytook it for fear of hurting his feelings, for I did not like to deprivehim of it. He was, in truth, a noble fellow, and showed that hisgratitude did not merely lie in mere empty words and idle compliments. 

No, "out of sight out of mind" was not his guiding maxim, like it is ofsome people whom we all have met in the course of our lives; for, evenafter he had uttered his farewell as he rowed away from the ship in thecaptain's gig, wishing us with a graceful wave of the hand "A Dios!" hedid not forget us, sending back by the coxswain a splendid present offlowers and fruit and vegetables, almost loading the gig, indeed, forthe acceptance of the wardroom and gunroom messes. He forwarded, aswell, a case of valuable wine of some special vintage for CaptainFarmer's own table. 

No one in fact who had done him a kindness when on board passed out ofhis remembrance, apparently, on his leaving; for, to the doctor he senta diamond ring, to Lieutenant Jellaby a lady's fan, which, judging bywhat he had heard of his partiality for the fair sex, I suppose hethought would please him most; and to Corporal Macan and Bill Bates, whohad been especially prominent at his rescue, a box of cigars each, whilehe also sent to the captain a handsome sum of money for him todistribute amongst the crew as he thought best. 

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE. 

"CAPE SMOKE!"

We only stopped at Madeira long enough to get a few purser's stores toadd to the supply with which the generosity of Don Ferdinando hadalready provided us. We also took in some water, for two of our tanksbelow had been "started" during our bucketting about in the bay, andCaptain Farmer feared we might run short when we reached the warmlatitudes; as, in the event of our falling across the usual calmsprevalent in the neighbourhood of the Equator, we might be rolling abouta week or two, roasting, in the Doldrums!

But, luckily, we were blessed with favouring winds and made a goodpassage, picking up the North-East Trades shortly after we said"good-bye" to Funchal, with its pretty white villas nestling on thehillside amid a background of greenery; and then, meeting with strongwesterly breezes instead of calms, on getting further south into theTropics, we crossed the Line on Christmas Day, when all the good peopleat home, I thought at the time, would be shivering with cold and saying, as they snuggled up to the fire, gazing perhaps on a snow-coveredlandscape without, "What seasonable weather we are having!" while wewere sweltering in the heat under a copper sky, with the thermometer upto 98 degrees in the shade of the awnings!

From the Equator, we had a splendid run to the Cape, taking altogetherexactly sixty-five days clear for our passage from England. 

During this interval I and my brother cadets had to attend "school"every morning from half-past 9 o'clock to 11:30 in the captain's outercabin under the poop, where the chaplain, who also filled the post ofnaval instructor, officiated as schoolmaster-in-chief, teaching usmathematics and the theory of navigation, as well as seeing that we keptup our logs, which Captain Farmer himself inspected once a week, to makecertain that the chaplain, on his part, attended to his duty. 

We got on very well with the Reverend Mr Smythe, who had all hislongshore starchiness knocked out of him by his long bout ofsea-sickness, the poor man having been confined to his bunk andcompletely prostrate with the fell malady from the hour that we weighedanchor at Plymouth until we "brought up" at Madeira. I should not, perhaps, have made use of this term, as it savours of tautology, theunfortunate chaplain having been industriously occupied in doing littleelse save "bringing up" all the time; especially when we were pitchingand rolling in the Bay of Biscay!

Every day, too, at a quarter of an hour before noon, we had to muster onthe poop, where, under the tutelage of the master, Mr Quadrant, wewatched for the dip of the sun; and, as soon as the master reported thatit was twelve o'clock to the captain, who told him "to make it so, " andEight Bells was struck on the ship's bell forwards, we would adjourn tothe gunroom below. 

There we all worked out the reckoning, showing our respectivecalculations or "fudgings" as the case might be, to Mr Quadrant; whenif these "passed muster, " we entered the result in our log-books, alongwith other observations and facts connected with the daily routine ofthe ship and her progress towards her destination. 

To ascertain this, in addition to taking the sun at noon and noting theattitude of certain stars at night, the log was hove every hour; andeach of us learnt in turn to fix the pin in the "dead man, " as thelog-ship is styled--the triangular piece of wood, with a long lineattached, by which the speed of the ship is ascertained. 

The first piece of this cord is termed the "stray line, " and isgenerally of the same length as the ship, so as to allow for the eddyand wash of the wake astern; and, at the end of this stray line, a pieceof bunting is inserted in the coil, from which a length of forty-sevenfeet three inches is measured off and a disc of leather put on the lineto mark the termination of the first knot, or nautical mile. Two knotsare put at the end of another length of forty-seven feet three inches;three knots at a third, and so on, until as much of the line has beenthus measured and marked off at equal distances as will test the utmostsailing capacity of the ship--a single knot being placed midway, also, between each of these divisions, to denote the half knots. 

Two sand-glasses are used in connection with the log-line, as the oldquartermaster, who was our instructor in this branch of our nauticaleducation, explained, the one called "the long glass, " which runs out intwenty-eight seconds, while the other is a fourteen-second glass, whichis generally adopted at sea when the ship is going over five knots witha fair wind. 

The first mentioned is only used in light breezes; and, as Bob Rickettsshowed us by careful manipulation, reeling off bights of the line andkeeping the slack loosely in his hands, the thing to be particular aboutis to heave the log-ship over the side clear of the ship, and see theglass turned as soon as the bunting mark is reached, denoting that allthe "waste" has run out. 

Then, whatever mark you can distinguish on the line nearest to your handat the expiration of the allotted twenty-eight or fourteen seconds, whenthe man holding the glass sings out "Stop!" as the last grain of sandempties itself out of the bulb, that will be the speed of the ship. 

The division of knots on the log-line bear the same proportion to amile, as the twenty-eight or fourteen seconds of the glass does to anhour of time; so, if the four-knot mark be to hand, and the "long" glassbe used, she is going four knots, or nautical miles, per hour. It willbe eight knots if the "short glass" be the standard of measurement; thetime the line has taken being only half the former, and the number ofthe knots having to be doubled to keep the proportion between the lengthof line and the space of time equal. 

It did not take me long to master what the old quartermaster had toteach me on this point; but some of the other cadets were awfully stupidat first, I must say, particularly that brute Andrews, in spite of hisbumptiousness and conceit. 

He gave old Ricketts a lot of trouble before he remembered to put in thepin prior to pitching the log-ship overboard; though without this itcould not float upright, and was as good as useless to gauge our speed. 

The ass could not be made to understand this, and omitted putting in thepin time after time so persistently, that Ricketts had to tell thecommander that he "could make nothing out of him. "

In addition to these details of 'boardship life, we were also instructedin practical seamanship by one of the boatswain's mates. 

He was an old hand who had been at sea so long that he seemed to smellof salt water and tar; while his face was like a piece of pickled beefcovered with a quantity of hair that resembled spunyarn more thananything else, being as stiff and wiry as an untwisted rope. 

Old Oakum, however, was a thorough sailor, every inch of him, and hetaught me much more than I had learned on board the _Illustrious_, notonly in "knotting and splicing" and other things. 

Under this worthy's guidance I practised the "goose step" of goingaloft, as it might be described by a drill sergeant, the mizzenmastbeing placed at our disposal every fine afternoon, and it was prettynearly good weather all the time of our passage southwards, to learn theart of reefing and furling sails and to send down or cross upper yards;so that we became in the end almost as expert as our tutor, the old saltone day telling Tommy Mills and myself that we took in a royal "as goodand better as any two able seamen could a done it, blow me!"

It was not "all work and no play, " either, for we had plenty of fun andskylarking down in the gunroom; making the oldsters there, like MrStormcock and the assistant-paymaster, Mr Fortescue Jones, frequentlywish they, or rather that we, had never been born to come to sea totorment them. 

The very duty of the ship itself was an endless source of occupation andamusement to us, the commander keeping the men "at it" continually fromsunrise to sunset, until he had so licked us all into shape that we werethe smartest ship's company afloat, I think; for the discipline was suchthat the old _Candahar_ might have been four years in commission insteadof the brief three months that had elapsed from our hoisting the pen'antto our casting anchor in Simon's Bay, a port to the eastward of the"Stormy Cape, " where our men-of-war usually moor. 

Here, we remained for ten days to refit, setting up our lower rigging, which had got very slack through the heat of the Tropics, and taking infresh provisions and water, besides all of us having a run ashore toshake the reefs out of our legs. 

All the men, too, were allowed leave by watches each day of our stay, and few took advantage of the licence to misbehave themselves althoughtemptation enough was thrown in their way by the hospitable inhabitants. 

Amongst these few, I am sorry to say, Corporal Macan distinguishedhimself, falling a victim to his "ould complaint, " by coming aboard onthe second day after our arrival in a state of glorious intoxication, despite his solemn promise to Dr Nettleby, through whom the commanderhad given him permission to land, that he "wouldn't touch a dhrop ov thecraythur, not if Ould Nick axed him. "

Larkyns, who was in charge of the launch, in which the culprit wasbrought back helpless to the ship in the afternoon, noticing hiscondition when he tried to go up the side, ordered him to report himselfto the sergeant of marines; but, Mr Macan, who was valiant in his cups, waxed indignant at this and flatly refused to obey the command, sayingthat he would not mind going before the commander, or the firstlieutenant, or even meeting the doctor himself, though he was loth tosee him for the moment with his broken promise staring him in the face;but as for going and reporting himself to the sergeant he should not, no, not he. 

"An' is it to rayport mesilf to that omahdaun ye're afther axin me, sor?" he said scornfully, tossing his head and leering out of his littlepig eyes in the most comical way. "Faix, I'd rayther not, wid yourfavour, sor. I wouldn't demane mesilf by spakin' to the loikes ovSarjent Linstock, sor!"

The upshot was that poor Macan was put under arrest and confined in thecells that night; and when brought before the captain the next day forinsubordination and drunkenness, as he had no excuse to offer he wasdisrated, losing his rank of corporal, with all its perquisites andprivileges!

On the doctor taxing him with breaking his pledged word, however, in anafter interview that worthy had with the delinquent, he vehementlyprotested his innocence of that charge at all events. 

"I tould yez, sor, I wouldn't touch a dhrop ov the craythur, maynin'whisky, sure, " he said, with a miserable attempt at a grin; for he feltvery much humiliated at losing his stripes, Macan sober being quite adifferent man to Macan drunk. "An' faix I niver bruk me wurrud at all, at all, I'll swear, sor. "

"How can you have the face to deny it, man?" cried the doctor, angrily. "Why, I saw the state you were in myself when you came aboard the othernight!"

"That mebbe, sor, " replied the undaunted Irishman, with a little of hisold bravado; "but it warn't the ould complaint, I till ye, sor. "

"What was it, then, that made you drunk, you rascal?" rejoined thedoctor, with a twinkle in his eye, knowing his man, "for, drunk youwere--ay, as drunk as Chloe?"

"Faix, sor, " said Macan, noting instantly the doctor's change of mood, and grinning all over his face in consequence, "it wor the Cape shmokethat did it. Sure, it obfusticated me, sor, entirely!"

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR. 

WE JOIN THE ADMIRAL AT SINGAPORE. 

"Cape smoke?" said I, inquiringly, to Mr Stormcock, who happened tocome up the hatchway on to the main deck as the doctor was thuscross-examining the ex-corporal of marines outside the sick bay, wherepoor Macan was now doing "sentry-go" after his reduction to the ranks, to make his humiliation the more complete. "What is that? It can't bereal smoke, I suppose!"

The master's mate laughed. 

"Smoke, eh, youngster?" he repeated in his ironical way, being thedriest old stick we had in the gunroom and certainly, according toLarkyns, a judge of considerable experience of the article underdiscussion. "Bless you, it's the most rotgut stuff any fellow ever putin his inside, and only a Dutchman could have invented it! I can tellyou it's a liquor that's best left alone. Take my advice, Vernon, anddon't you have anything to do with it!"

"I won't, " I replied. "Have you ever tasted it, Mr Stormcock?"

He looked at me hard, thinking at first that I meant to chaff him; butseeing that I asked the question in perfect good faith, without anyintention of alluding to his reported "little weakness, " he proceeded toanswer me, truthfully enough. 

"By jingo! youngster, I can tell you, I speak from my own knowledge, " hesaid, as he turned away to go forwards, "I had too much of it once whenI was at the Cape before and it gave me the shakes next morning so badlythat my teeth rattled like a horse's jaws when chewing a hammer!"

This expression amused me very much, for I had never heard previously ofa horse indulging in that species of diet; so, I went up on thequarter-deck to take my watch with a broad smile on my face, whichattracted Mr Jellaby's notice at once, as he had a keen relish for ajoke. 

"Hullo, youngster, you're grinning like a Cheshire cat eating greencheese!" he exclaimed. "I suppose you have heard the news, and thatmakes you so chirpy?"

This made me all agog in a moment, with the expectation of somethingvery exciting coming, and I answered his question in the Irish fashion, by asking another with much eagerness. 

"What news, sir? I haven't heard of any. "

"Why, the redcoats belonging to the garrison at Cape Town are going togive a grand ball in our honour, and of course all the gunroom officersas well as the wardroom fellows will be invited, " he replied. "Idaresay they'll be able to spare you from your important duties aboardfor the occasion, and I'll try to smuggle you off myself if I can. ByJove, it will be a splendid hop, for the Cape Town girls are chawming, they tell me!"

I was not old enough yet, however, for this encomium of his on the youngladies of the colony to be any inducement to me, and, to tell the truth, was a little disappointed at hearing what his wonderful news was, imagining it to have been something very different. 

"Oh!" I said, without any improved enthusiasm, such as he doubtlessexpected. "Thank you, sir. "

"Well you _are_ an ungrateful young cub!" he cried. "Catch me puttingmyself out of the way again to give you a treat! One would think fromyour glum look that I was going to bring you up on the quarter-deckbefore the captain, instead of offering to take you to the ball!"

I felt quite sorry at having hurt his feelings, he looked so chagrined;but, before I could say anything in excuse for the apathetic way inwhich I had received his intelligence, Mr Bitpin, who had overheard theconversation, came to my rescue. 

"Nonsense, Jellaby!" he said. "What can a boy like that know aboutgirls? Time enough for him to think of the petticoats when he's twentyyears older; and then he'll be a fool if he runs after them as much asyou do!"

"Ah, you're jealous, Bitpin, because you're not a lady's man!" retortedMr Jellaby, recovering his good humour in a moment, as he always did, no matter how much he might be put out. "If you were as great afavourite with them as I am, you'd sing a different song, I know. "

"As great a fiddlestick!" ejaculated the other with infinite scorn, having the reputation of being as much of a woman-hater as Diogenes. "If I was as big an ass about those `chawming girls' as you call them, Itell you what I would do--I'd go and hang myself!"

He said this so fervently, that, in spite of Mr Bitpin's burlesque ofhis manner of speaking, "Joe" fairly roared with laughter, in which thegunnery lieutenant, who had just come up from below to see aboutsomething deficient in one of the upper deck guns, which had beenreported to him by Mr Triggs during the morning's inspection, joinedwith much gusto. 

Their merriment so enraged Mr Bitpin that he went down to the wardroomin the most wrathful mood, declaring that they were a couple of idiotsand that the service was going to the devil through the Admiraltyneglecting the claims of their best officers and promoting a lot ofempty-headed coxcombs, who thought more of prancing about in a ballroomin patent leather pumps than of keeping their watch regularly andattending to their duties aboard ship!

Notwithstanding all adverse comments, however, Mr Jellaby's news of theforthcoming ball proved true, for I heard it confirmed at the captain'stable the same evening. 

Captain Farmer was in the habit of inviting his officers in turn todinner three times a week, the commander being a regular guest and oneof the lieutenants and mates, with a couple of midshipmen and navalcadets being generally present on each occasion; while the doctor andchaplain, as also the purser and marine officers, only came occasionallyto these gatherings, the conversation mostly dealing with professionalmatters in which those belonging to the executive were mainly interestedand the other branches not much concerned. 

It was for this reason, I suppose, the captain did not invite theselatter officers more often than he could help!

During the progress of the courses this evening, the talk, as usual, wason service topics; but when the cloth had been removed and the toast of"the Queen" honoured in the customary way, each of us youngsters beingthen allowed our one glass of wine to drink the health of Her Majesty, Captain Farmer introduced the subject of the garrison ball. 

"I have here invitation cards for all of you, even including you, MasterVernon, " he said, handing them round and passing one over to me whichwas inscribed with my name in full; the "sojer officers, " as Tommycalled them, having managed through the purser or master-at-arms, or bysome other means, to get hold of all our names correctly, both great andsmall. "So, gentlemen, we must try and make as brave a show as we canin return for the compliment, the affair really being given in ourhonour. We need only keep an anchor watch, so nearly all of you may bespared, I think, for the night. You'll have to settle it with thecommander as to who shall remain on board. "

This was soon settled, Mr Bitpin offering at once to do double duty forthe nonce, as he did not care about dancing and besides wished leave forthe two following days to go up country on a visit to a Caffre kraal;while Plumper, the fat mate, who had the toothache very badly, alsovolunteered to remain. 

So did the master and purser and Mr McGilpin, the assistant-surgeon;the latter saying that he had no stomach for consorting with "themeeletary, " they being "a maist feckless set o' loons. "

As for the middies and us cadets, we had to draw lots to decide whoshould go and who stop behind; but, at the last moment, the commandergave permission for us all to go, save Andrews, who had been impertinentto the first lieutenant in the afternoon and was ordered to remain inthe ship. 

I was not sorry I went, after all, for it was a jolly affair and Ienjoyed myself mightily, especially at the supper table, where theredcoats shone to perfection; this opinion of mine being shared, Ibelieve, by most of my fellow youngsters, who cared more for the grandtuck out they had than all the dancing in the world. 

I noticed, though, that Mr Jellaby kept up his reputation as a lady'sman, waltzing and flirting all the evening with an awfully fat Dutchfrau, who was broader of beam than comported with her short stature, andwhom the susceptible lieutenant subsequently described as "the mostchawming woman" he had ever met in his life! "Joe" got awfully chaffedabout her by all of his brother officers of the wardroom whose rankpermitted them to take such a liberty with him; and, though we couldtake no share in their personal amenities, we youngsters grinned ourapproval of the various witty remarks and rejoinders that passed to andfro on our way back aboard the following day--the ball having lastedtill long after daybreak the next morning, and Simon's Bay being allastir, with plenty of "Simons, " black and white, astir ashore andafloat, as we rowed out to the ship, we having nearly outstayed ourleave, the captain and commander preceding us aboard by a long spell. 

We gave a return dance to the garrison folk and hospitable inhabitantsgenerally the day before we sailed for the China Sea; when the old_Candahar_ was decked out so gaily with bunting and evergreens, withwhich we were lavishly supplied from the shore, that the riggers ofPortsmouth Dockyard would not have known her. 

Her upper deck was a perfect parterre of flowers and foliage, intertwined with the flags of all nations, and enclosed under an awning, which latter had a canvas screen all round to keep out the prying eyesof the bluejackets on the forecastle. 

Going round with Mr Fortescue Jones, the assistant-paymaster, whom Ihad taken a liking to in consequence of his having served under SirCharles Napier, Dad's old captain and my own personal patron, he noticedthis screen and he told me another anecdote of the old admiral, to addto my list. 

"His flagship, the _Duke of Wellington_, was lying off Kiel orCopenhagen, I forget which exactly, and the officers were about to givea similar entertainment to ourselves as an acknowledgment of the kindtreatment they had received from the inhabitants of the place. Likeours, the ship was decorated throughout regardless of expense, everyonesubscribing to the fund, and a screen similar to what we had was beingput up when the admiral coming down from the poop chanced to noticethis. 

"`Hullo!' he cried. `What's that for?'

"`Why, sir, ' explained the commander, `it's to keep the men forrud fromstaring at the dancers. '

"`The deuce it is!' said the old fellow, taking an awful lot of snuff, Mr Jones remarked, " as if I were not acquainted with this habit of theveteran sailor. 

"`By whose orders was it rigged up?'

"`Orders, sir?' replied the commander, a bit nonplussed. `By mine, sir. '

"`Then mine are for you to rig it down at once, ' cried the admiral, in amighty fume, walking up and down and waving his arms about like awindmill backwards and forwards from his waistcoat pocket to his nose. `I won't have any screens fitted up on board my ship to keep out mysailors from seeing what they have as good a right to see and enjoy asany of those with whom they have fought and bled. No sailors, no ball, or I'm a Russian! You can put that in your pipe and smoke it, MrCommander!'"

"Did the ball come off, Mr Jones, " I inquired of the narrator, "afterall?"

"No, " said he. "The fleet had to sail the very same day for which itwas fixed. I believe old Charley arranged that it should be so, onpurpose to pay out the commander, who had set his heart on it; for hewas very hard on the men always, and the admiral could not stand that. "

"He was a good friend, always, to the sailors?" I remarked. "I haveheard my father say so. "

"Rather! Why, he would do anything for them, regardless of his owncomfort, and they in return would follow him anywhere, night or day, inthe face of a thousand batteries. He was, indeed, like a father tothem, " continued the paymaster, who was fond of yarning about his oldexperiences with the admiral. "I recollect after the bombardment ofBomarsund and the capture of a lot of prizes up the Baltic, we put intoKiel again, and the men wanted to draw advances to have a spree ashore, but the admiral told the purser to refuse them, and when they grumbledabout it he gave them a `dressing-down' from the poop, having them allpiped aft by the bosun for the purpose. `Lads, ' says he, `I'll let youhave ten shillings apiece, but not a farthing more to spend, now! Iwant you to save all your prize-money for your wives and sweetheartswhen you return to England, for I don't wish to have my eyes scratchedout on Common Hard when I come out of the dockyard on landing, as Ishould, if I were fool enough to allow you to spend all your money outhere instead of making you keep it, as I intend, till you get home!' Hewas a rare good old sort was the admiral, young Vernon!"

"So I should think, " I replied, "from all I have heard. "

But there our chat ended, the Cape people just beginning to come off to"cut their capers, " as Master Larkyns remarked to me, making me a targetas usual for one of his fearful puns. 

Our dance was as great a success, I think, as the garrison ball, judgingby the approving comments of our guests, who kept it up till the middlewatch had well-nigh come to a close. 

Mr Jellaby, I noticed, inconstant fellow that he was, payed attentionsof the most marked character on this occasion, all the time thefestivities lasted to a Cape damsel of the most slender figure, contrasting strongly with the stout lady who was his former flame andwho had come off especially, so the wardroom officers said in theirchaff, to renew her attack on the heart of the lieutenant. 

Mr Jellaby, proved a recreant knight and the Dutch lady had to contentherself with the cavalier-ship of the youngest and most diminutive cadeton board, my chum, little Tommy Mills!

But Tommy's gallant championship of the deserted fair one and thelieutenant's fresh flirtation had to terminate, like everything else inthis world; and hardly had the last of our visitors quitted the shipthan the hands were turned up to weigh anchor, the old _Candahar_sailing soon after daybreak and shaping a course southwards to pick upthe westerly trade winds of the "Roaring Forties. "

With studding sails, upper and lower, on each side, we bowled alonggaily, the wind right astern all the way some two thousand miles odd orso, until we fetched the meridian of the Island of Saint Paul in themiddle of the great southern ocean; when, we hauled up to the north-eastand steered for the Straits of Sunda, leading into the China Sea--finally joining the admiral in command of the station at Singapore, where we cast anchor again in the outer roads one broiling morning inMarch, just four months from the date of our leaving home. 

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE. 

"THE HEATHEN CHINEE. "

"What a rum place!" cried Larkyns, when the ship was safely moored andCaptain Farmer had gone off in his gig to pay his respects to theadmiral, whose flagship lay hard by, all of us then having time to lookround and survey the strange and picturesque surroundings--semi-European, semi-Oriental, all tropical--of Singapore harbour, thecapital of the Straits Settlements and great port of the EasternArchipelago, amid which we now found ourselves. "I'm blowed if itdoesn't look like the pantomime of `Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves' atDrury Lane!"

"That's not at all a bad simile, youngster, " observed the commander, whowas just coming down from the poop, after seeing everything snug andthat the awnings had been spread over the decks, with windsails riggedup leading through the hatchways to introduce what air there was to theheated atmosphere below. "Only, instead of forty, I should think therewere forty thousand thieves amongst that crowd of Asiatics, with theirserpent's eyes and slimy bodies! It looks like a water picnic, does itnot?"

It was certainly a wonderful and varied scene that we gazed at over thehammock rail, the glaring sun overhead, the vividly blue sea stretchingup to the white beach in front of the busy-looking town and the verdanthills beyond, with white villas nestling amid the green, like Madeira, and big, gru-gru palms and agaves, with other odd, broad-foliaged plantsto tell that we were in more outlandish latitudes; while, skimming overthe glassy blue water, that turned to an emerald green in its depths andwas so transparent that the sandy bottom could be seen, with variousmolluscs crawling about amongst the algas, were hundreds of boats ofevery description--from the trim-built man-o'-war's cutter down to theslipper-like sampan and aboriginal coracle of as queer construction asthe catamaran of the Coromandel coast or the war canoe of the SandwichIslands. 

Other even queerer craft lay at anchor like ourselves, only further upthe harbour, chief amongst them being Chinese junks of every size, fromthe huge, travelling tea-chest from Woosung or Amoy of three or fourthousand tons burthen, down to the "junklet" from the nearer provincesof the Celestial Empire of lesser proportions. 

But, all were alike in form, veritable facsimiles of the picture of the_Great Harry_ of the time of Henry the Eighth, which I remember seeingin an old book on history when I was cramming up for my examination andlooked at every work I could come across in order to increase my storeof knowledge. 

These junks all had great, staring, goggle eyes painted on their bows oneither side, John Chinaman believing that without these fanciful addendahis stagey-looking craft "no see no piecee walk can do. "

Their sails also were very funny, being huge mats, of trapezoidal shape, that resembled so many Venetian blinds. 

These sails were hoisted on tall poles of eighty to hundred feet inheight, without a joint, while their floating rattan cables completedtheir theatrical appearance, circling round their prows with the tidelike snakes. 

In addition to these were likewise any number of Malay prahus and"prams" from Borneo and Celebes and the Philippine Islands generally;Arab dhows and "grabs" from the Persian Gulf; English-captained, Lascar-manned trading vessels from Calcutta and Madras; fishingschooners from the Torres Straits and Sydney, laden with cargoes ofsea-slugs, for Chinese consumption; besides merchant ships from everyport in Europe--although, I noticed that the British and American flagswere decidedly in the ascendant. 

All this heterogeneous collection of vessels, of every known nationalityand rig, come hither at all seasons, but the Chinese junks mostly whenthe north-east monsoon sets in to blow them along with their favouritestern wind. 

They resort here as to a common meeting ground or exchange mart, to swoptheir cargoes, the silks and teas and spices and precious gums of theEast being bartered for the manufactures and merchandise of the West;while the keen though sleepy-looking Dutchmen, Chinese, Jews, Parsees, Siamese, Englishmen and Yanks, who negotiate and this interchange ofwares manage to conduct the bargaining in their various lingoes by theaid of a polyglot dialect of their own, chuckling over the dollars andcash and cowries as they rake them in with the impression that they aregetting the best of the deal, when all the time, perhaps, they are beingcheated themselves!

So Commander Nesbitt now told us, kindly particularising the variouspoints of interest to us two youngsters and explaining all we did notknow, which meant pretty nearly everything, as he had served in thesewaters before; while to Larkyns and myself Singapore and its migratorypopulation, with their prominent characters and characteristics, wereall new, as, indeed, they were to most of the fellows in the gunroom, excepting Mr Stormcock and Plumper, the fat senior mate, both of whom, like the commander, had previously been on the station and wereacquainted of old with the place and its people. 

But neither Larkyns nor myself need have been in any hurry to make ourobservations; for, we had ample opportunity of learning all we wished toknow, and a good deal more, too, of Singapore and its surroundings, aswe remained here over six weeks. 

The _Candahar_ had orders to await the coming of Admiral Hope fromEngland by the overland mail, in succession to Admiral Sir MichaelSeymour, whose period of service had expired before the former leftLondon to take up his commission. 

In order to understand the position of affairs leading up to the eventsI am now about to speak of, in which, possibly, I took a more prominentpart than I might have chosen had I been given the option, I may mentionthat through the action mainly of the last-named officer, in capturingCanton and forcing his way almost up to the gates of Pekin, which seemedto bring the Imperial Ruler of the Universe and Emperor of the Sun, Moonand Stars to his senses, the series of intermittent wars between GreatBritain and China, which had been waged at intervals since the year1840, breaking out again after more than one temporary cessation ofhostilities, like a smouldering fire ever and anon bursting into flame, had been, it was sanguinely believed by the authorities, brought to apermanent close by the Treaty of Tientsin, signed in 1858. 

This treaty, however, which as Lord Elgin, our plenipotentiary, wrotehome to warn the Government, had "been extorted only from the fears" ofthe Chinese, was not to be ratified until the succeeding year, the dateof our arrival on the scene; where the Celestials hoped that they mightby then have time to prepare themselves for a renewal of the struggle, although, of course, our wise men in office never thought of such athing, implicitly giving faith to the assurances of the pigtailedmandarins that peace was as good as settled, and that friendly relationsbetwixt ourselves and the yellow-skinned descendants of the greatConfucius would be resumed and their ports open to our trade at the timefixed--only, not till then!

How those blandly-smiling mandarins must have twinkled their little pigeyes and tossed their pigtails in gay abandon at the simplicity of the"Outer Barbarians" whom they thus beguiled in the usual "Heathen Chinee"fashion, as we subsequently discovered to our cost, although this isanticipating matters. 

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX. 

A HORNET'S NEST. 

Towards the middle of April, to proceed with my regular yarn, within twomonths of the time fixed for the ratification of this paper treaty, ournew chief arrived at Singapore; when, taking over the command from hispredecessor, who at once started off in the homeward mail steamer, Admiral Hope sailed with the fleet to Shanghai--the _Candahar_ formingpart of the squadron that escorted our ambassador, Mr Bruce, to themouth of the Peiho River, where he was appointed to meet the Chineseofficials and with them journey on to Pekin, there to complete all therequisite formalities for the final execution of the treaty. 

Reaching Shanghai without mishap and finding Mr Bruce ready toaccompany us, although the mandarins had already interposed obstacles todelay his departure in order to evade the obligations they had enteredinto on behalf of their imperial master in the art of subterfuge andevasion, we proceeded on the 11th June to the Gulf of Pechili; anchoringunder the lee of the Sha-liu-tien, or "Wide-spreading-sand Islands, "some fifteen miles off the entrance to the Peiho. 

The water here being too shoaly to allow the larger vessels of the fleetto approach near the shore, the admiral embarked aboard one of thesmaller gunboats, thinking the coast clear and everything peaceful; buton getting close to the mouth of the river, he discovered to hissurprise that a series of formidable earthworks had been erected on bothbanks in place of the Taku Forts which Admiral Seymour had destroyed inthe preceding year. 

The river itself, also, had been rendered impassable by a series ofbooms and stakes, so arranged as to be protected by the fire of thebatteries, whose numerous embrasures spoke to their containing a largenumber of guns; while, to remove any doubts as to the hostile characterof these preparations, the officer Admiral Hope sent to acquaint theauthorities in charge of these fortifications of the arrival of ourambassador was refused permission to land. 

On communicating this news to Mr Bruce, who was accompanied on hisambassadorial mission by Monsieur Bourbillon, the representative of theFrench Government, --a council of war was held on board the flagship;when it was determined to force the passage of the river, so that theambassadors should be able to go up to Pekin in accordance with theEmperor of China's express permission to that effect given under hissign manual. 

The admiral therefore forwarded off at once a letter to the commandantin charge of the defences, telling him that unless the obstructions wereremoved within the next forty-eight hours, he, the admiral, would set towork to clear them away himself in the manner he thought best. 

This was explicit enough; and as no answer was received to thiscommunication by sunset on the 24th, the limit of the ultimatum, AdmiralHope proceeded to prove himself as good as his word. 

An unsuccessful attempt was made by the boats of the flagship the verysame night to pull up some of the iron stakes driven into the bed of theriver, that held the booms in their position across its mouth. 

This failed through the tenacity of the mud, the effort of thebluejackets being discovered by the batteries, which fired on them, compelling them to desist and return to their ship; but, this was a mereflash in the pan, the real attack being planned for the morrow. 

In the meantime, the fleet had moved in from the Sha-liu-tien Islands tothe anchorage opposite the entrance to the Peiho, where our ship and the_Chesapeake_, with some of the others remained out of range of thebatteries, which we on our side, were unable to reach with our guns forany effective purposes. 

The gunboats of lesser draught, however, proceeded to cross the bar ofthe river; where also the boats of the bigger ships were subsequentlydespatched, filled with all the small-arms men and marines available toform a reserve force which was to attack the principal batteries in theflank after the gunboat had pounded them in front, as well as fill upcasualties in the first line. 

Every man on board the _Candahar_ was on the alert on the morning of thememorable 24th June, I can tell you, when the boatswain's pipe wentscreeching through the ship at daylight, and the commander sang out theorder to "Man and arm boats. "

"I bet we don't have any fight at all!" grumbled Mr Stormcock, as hebuckled on his sword and prepared to go in the launch with Mr Gilham, who was directed to command her, Larkyns, having to play second fiddlein the boat on this occasion. "Those blessed Chinamen won't come up tothe scratch as soon as they see we mean business. "

"Perhaps not, " said Mr Gilham. "But, they were precious sharp lastnight in detecting those fellows that went after the booms. I thinkthey mean fighting this time, they're keeping so dark. "

"Well, I only hope they do, sir, " replied the master's mate, with aheavy sigh that evidently came from the bottom of his heart. "For mypart, I think they'll cut and run at the first shot, as they've alwaysdone before. I was out here, sir, in the Fatshan affair up the CantonRiver in '57, and I remember as we boarded the junks on one side, all ofus racing after them up the creek, the yellow devils would jump out onthe other, without standing up against us for an instant. "

While they were talking, I managed to scramble into the bows of thelaunch unobserved, nobody noticing me till we had left the ship and itwas too late; and, though Mr Gilham shook his fist at me and told me Iwas "acting against orders, " he beckoned me to come aft, where Larkynsand Mr Stormcock made a place for me between them in the sternsheets, the rest of the boat being crammed with bluejackets and marines, thelatter sitting down on the bottom boards between the thwarts and theknees of those pulling. 

On pulling inshore we made fast to some junks which had beenrequisitioned and moored just inside the bar for the purpose, and herewe remained while the gunboats went on to the assault; Admiral Hopeleading the advance in person and hoisting his flag on the little_Plover_, which showed the way to the rest, moving onward to the firstobstruction in the river, a long row of iron piles linked together byeight-inch hawsers hove taut. 

As we watched our comrades making this forward movement at last, theflood tide filled the turgid stream of the Peiho, flooding the reedymarshes on either side of its banks; until, presently, a sheet of muddywater stretched up to the base of the forts, lapping their wide earthenescarpments. 

These made no sign of defiance whatever, not a man being seen on theparapets, nor a gun peeping from their embrasures, which were hiddenwith mantlets. 

Every heart beat high with excitement; and instead of fearing the worst, the worst we feared was a hollow victory!

The gunboats all took up their several positions, anchoring so as tocommand the forts and support those attacking the booms; and at twop. M. , when the ebb began to flow and there was no danger of the streamcarrying the vessels too close in, the _Opossum_ was ordered by signalto pull up the first pile, which she did by the aid of tackles and steampower. 

On the removal of this obstacle, the admiral passed through towards thesecond barrier, which was immediately under the concentric fire of thebatteries on both banks of the river. 

Here the question would be decided at length whether the Chinese meantfighting or not. 

We had not long to wait for the decision. 

Hardly had the bows of the _Plover_ touched the boom than "Bang" went asingle gun from the nearest earthwork. 

This seemed like a signal; for, almost at the instant of its discharge, a terrific fire of shot and shell from forty pieces of cannon was hurledon the unfortunate _Plover_ and her consort the _Opossum_, whichfollowed her close up behind, both being immediately wreathed in smokeand flame and having their decks swept fore and aft by every discharge. 

It was a regular ambuscade, a hornet's nest!

In less than twenty minutes, the two gunboats were so badly shattered asto be almost silenced; though the plucky little _Plover_ still remainedin the van, with the admiral's signal still flying, "Engage the enemy, "with the red pennant under, which Mr Gilham told me meant "as close aspossible. "

She held out, too, in spite of her not having nine men of her originalcrew left efficient out of the party with which she commenced theaction; while Lieutenant Rason, who commanded her, was killed by beingcut in two by a round shot. 

The admiral himself was grievously wounded by the splinter of a shell inthe thigh, and the rest of the officers swept down--a terrible amount ofslaughter in so small a space. 

Of course, we did not know all this till afterwards; but we could seethe poor little temporary flagship's battered state, as she swung allabroad across the sullen, dark-flowing river, now seemingly red withblood from the flashes of the guns, whose murderous roar rent the aireach moment, sweeping down our comrades and laying them mangled andbleeding on the deck, every time we heard the sound. 

Then, we noticed a signal for assistance thrown out from the solitaryspar the _Plover_ had yet standing; and the _Lee_ and _Haughty_, whichwere anchored below the first barrier and busily engaged with thebatteries on the left bank, at once weighed and proceeded to theadmiral's aid. 

A few minutes later, Admiral Hope, though fainting from loss of blood, transferred his flag to the _Opossum_, which had not been so badlyserved out as the _Plover_; but, no sooner had the square white flag, with its red Saint George's cross been seen flying on the secondgunboat, than every gun in every battery was apparently directed on her, the admiral getting wounded a second time, while nearly every officerand man was shot down. 

"By heavens, it's too cruel!" cried Mr Stormcock, jumping up in thelaunch as the _Opossum_ dropped down towards us on the ebb tide, awayfrom the withering fire. "Can't we do something to help them?"

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN. 

"BLOOD'S THICKER THAN WATER!"

"Ay!" replied Mr Gilham, who was equally impatient to go to the rescueof our poor comrades, and, if not able to help them, to fall besidethem, the lieutenant speaking in a hoarse tone, with his face of thatpattern which shows a desperate purpose, and biting his lip so that theblood came, to keep in his repressed feeling. "But, not before theword's given for us to go forward. I wish to God this would come!"

It was terrible work for us, lying sheltered there under the lee of thejunk to which we were moored, looking on inactive, listening to thewhistle of the round shot hurtling in the air and hearing the heavy thudof the missiles as they crashed through the sides of the gunboats; forwe pictured the devastation these missiles wrought inboard, with theshrieks of the wounded, the groans of the dying, and the hapless bodiesof the dead strewing the decks. 

It was more terrible far to us than for those participating in the grimtragedy with all its attendant horrors. 

They were fighting and oblivious of everything save a mad longing tokill and slay; while we were doing--nothing!

Every one of us in the launch of the _Candahar_ felt that; and yet, whatcould we do?

A limit, however, came at length to our endurance. 

The _Plover_ and _Opossum_, which had dropped out of the first line, drifted down nearer to us; and then, the captain in command of thereserve called for volunteers to re-man those staunch little vesselsthat had borne all the burden and heat of the battle so far, but werestaunch, practically speaking, no longer, being almost floating wrecks, and their crews either wounded or dead. 

No second call was needed, the men being all alert in an instant, theboats' crews vieing with each other as to which should supply the freshhands required for the gunboats; although these would be going, as theywell knew, into the very jaws of death. 

Fortunately the launch was the nearest. 

"Give way, men!" cried Mr Gilham, waving his sword over his head in aperfect delirium of joy at being at last no longer a mere spectator ofthe exciting scene. "Now, we have a chance, lads; pull like devils lestit be taken from us!"

But, the lieutenant might have spared his breath, for the men's bloodwas up; and, with a bound, the heavily-laden launch dashed forwards asif she were a racing galley, distancing all her competitors, and beingalongside the leading gunboat before the rest had got half=way up, ourstart giving us an advantage, which even their lesser weight could notlessen. 

In less than a minute, the lot of us scrambled on board the _Opossum_, bluejackets, marines, gunners and all. 

We found the engineer and one solitary uninjured stoker below, theothers having all been killed by a bursting shell. 

These men, however, were still sticking manfully to their posts in theengine-room, notwithstanding that they must have been longing all thewhile to scuttle up on deck and "have a shy" at the treacherous beggarswho had caught us in such a villainous trap; and at once piling onsteam, the gunboat in which we were in, followed by the _Plover_, hurried up to the front again to relieve the _Lee_ and _Haughty_ whichwere now standing the brunt of the fire from the enemy's batteries, andlooked decidedly as if they were getting the worst of it. 

The _Lee_, indeed, had a hole knocked in her bows which a wheelbarrowcould have been trundled into; while her consort had been hulledrepeatedly below the water, and, being close in under the guns, these, as the tide fell, plunged their shot right through her bottom planking. 

"Hot work, ain't it, youngster?" observed Mr Stormcock to me, presently, when we came under fire and I had the pleasant sensation of ajinghal ball passing close to my ear, cutting a bit out the collar of myjacket and making me wince, though I can honestly say I was notfrightened at this, my first experience of being really in action. "Keep moving about and there'll be less chance of your being picked off. A lively man who does his work without thinking of the shot, seldomgets touched. So I found it two years ago, at all events, when I was inthe thick of it at Canton!"

"That's thrue, sor, " put in Corporal Macan, who had lately regained hisstripes after a long spell of good behaviour that atoned for his debauchat the Cape which lost him his rank; the Irishman now being engaged inserving the bow gun of the gunboat with the utmost deliberation, takingsteady aim with each shot which he pitched into the cavalier of thenearest battery and knocking the gun into "smithereens" at his thirdattempt, though, for every weapon of the enemy which we silenced theyseemed to bring a hundred others to bear on us. "Jist kape hoppingabout an' faith ye'll niver be hit, sure. Och, murther, what's thatnow?"

As he jerked out the sudden exclamation, he certainly acted up to hisadvice; for, he gave a hop that took him some ten feet in the air ere hefell down on the deck, all covered with blood. 

"Poor Macan!" said Mr Stormcock, bending over his prostrate form, andtrying to lift him in vain. "Well, he's done for at last, I'm afraid. We could have better spared a better man, perhaps!"

"He's dead, sir, sure enough, " corroborated one of the marines who hadbeen assisting to work the big bow gun, the carriage of which had beensmashed, on one side by a heavy chain shot, which must, we all thought, have settled the corporal at the same time. "He'll never eat plum duffagain, poor chap. He was a good one over his vittles, too, was thecorporal, and likewise at his drink!"

"Faix, ye lie, ye divil, " cried the seemingly lifeless man, reviving atthis moment and struggling to his feet. "I'm not d'id at all, at all!D'ye think now I'm going to be kilt--by a Haythin Chaynee? Begorrah, whin I am kilt, may the saints in h'iven presairve me from it yit!--Ihopes as how it'll be by a Roosian, or a Proosian, or a dacint Christianman of some sort or t'other, an' not, faix, by one of thim yaller-facedJohnnies over yander!"

We all laughed at this, it being quite a relief to find our old friendthe corporal had not yet lost "the number of his mess, " as he was thelife and soul of the ship on the lower deck, drunk or sober!

He had, however, a narrow squeak of it; for a splinter had jogged hisleg from the ankle to the knee, while the bollard on which he had beenstanding had been shot away under his feet. 

This caused that wonderful jump of his which had surprised me so much, himself all the more, too, the heavy fall he had on the deck afterwardshaving knocked him senseless for the time and, indeed, bruised him veryconsiderably. 

Macan, though, had all an Irishman's pluck, and would not give in. 

"Sure, sor, it's ownly a thrifle, " he urged, when told by Mr Stormcockto go below to Mr McGilpin, who was busy in the after-cabin, attendingto those of the wounded that the Chinese gunners, who aimed remarkablywell, had not put altogether beyond the reach of surgical aid. "Iwudn't throuble the docthor wid it; an' faix, I want to pay thim Chayneeimages fur smashin' me crockery! Bedad, an' I will, too, for I've gotmy hands left all right an' a straight oye, an', I'll have a slap at 'emag'in, sure, by your leve, sor!"

"Carry on!" cried Mr Stormcock, who had been assisting to wedge up thegun so that it could be still fired, only the carriage having beeninjured by the shot. "Make as good practice as you did before, Macan;and, then you'll soon be revenged on some of those beggars!"

"I will that, sor, " replied the corporal, bending down to the rear rightof the sixty-four pounder, which had been slewed round in the directionof the battery abreast us, and taking careful aim. "A ha'porth moreillivation, Number 2. Well--muzzle left! Well--fire!"

Bang it went off, making the dirt fly from the embrasure opposite, whilea cloud of smoke rose up, as if a magazine had been exploded; and so wecontinued, hammer and tongs, the atmosphere all sulphur and gunpowder, the deck slippery with gore, our ears deafened with the ceaselessdischarges of the guns, till it really seemed "as if Hell had brokenloose!" as Mr Stormcock said. 

It was the last sentence the master's mate ever uttered; for a bulletpenetrated his brain the next instant, and he dropped down beside mestone dead, almost as soon as the words escaped his lips. 

I hardly knew what occurred after that, I was so saddened by the loss ofMr Stormcock, whom I had always found a very good friend to me, for hehad taught me a good deal; and, notwithstanding that I had not taken tohim at first, I had since learnt to have a most sincere regard for him, while he on his part, though so much older than myself, liked me, Ibelieve, for he appeared fond of being in my company. 

His death, however, only added one more to the long list of those whohad already fallen; while every moment some fresh casualty occurred. 

The enemy's fire got hotter as the afternoon wore on and the fightproceeded, until everyone felt the task the admiral had attempted, withhis comparatively weak force, in attacking such formidable defences, wasdoomed to failure; although not a single man thought of abandoning thestruggle or confessing, as was the case, that we were "licked!"

But, it could not be much further prolonged; for, at six o'clock, the_Kestrel_ had been sunk, fighting her guns to the last, the _Lee_obliged to run on the mud to prevent her meeting a like fate; while the_Plover_ and _Opossum_, which were still in the van, had been prettywell knocked out of shape. 

The _Cormorant_ was ahead of us all, with the sorely wounded admirallying bleeding in his cot on her deck, our gallant chief persisting inwatching the battle to its bitter end, in spite of being compelled fromabsolute exhaustion to give up the immediate command of the squadron tohis senior officer, Captain Shadwell; though it was as much as thegunboat could do to keep her prominent position, in face of the terriblefire on her front and flanks. 

To retreat, however, was impossible then, as there was not water enoughin the river for the vessels that still floated to recross the barbefore midnight; besides which, if they attempted to move off whiledaylight lasted, they would be exposed to the risk of greater loss fromthe terrible fire from the batteries which was certain to be hailed onthem. 

Under the desperate circumstances of the case, therefore, it wasdetermined by the senior officer, who acted in concert with the othercaptains present, that a bold stroke should be attempted to save thehonour of the day, which was to try and carry the forts by assault--a"forlorn hope" in every sense of the word!

No sooner was this desperate expedient resolved on than it was gallantlyset about, the boats filled with the marines and small-arms men, who yetremained below the barrier at the river mouth being brought to thefront--an operation in which we were generously aided by CommodoreTatnall, of the United States steam frigate the _Toeywan_, which hadbeen lying off the Peiho for some time, out of the line of fire. 

"Great Scott!" cried this noble-hearted American to his officers as hesaw our poor fellows pulling up the heavily-laden launches and cuttersagainst stream, under the withering fire of the batteries, with a sortof dogged resolution, determined to do or die, giving the boats afriendly tow to the nearest point of land and approaching as close as hecould to the low, muddy shore on which the rising tide was beginning nowto flow again, regardless of any ill consequences to himself or hisship; albeit he was supposed to be a neutral, the Government of theUnited States not having taken sides with us in the war. "Blood'sthicker than water, boys! Let us lend them a hand. Thunder, they arebrother sailors and white men like ourselves!"

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT. 

THE HARVEST OF DEATH!

Nor did the sympathy of the American commodore cease here; for the boatsof the _Toeywan_ helped to pick up many of our wounded fellows who werestruggling in the water, while a lot of his men, coming alongside one ofthe gunboats, which had redoubled their fire in order to cover thelanding of the assaulting party, climbed on board and "lent a hand" toman the gun. 

The stalwart "down easters, " when called to order by their officer lateron, when leaving this vessel to regain their own ship, excusingthemselves for having taken so unneutral a part in the action, on theplea that seeing we were short-handed and in a tight place, they haddone it "for fellowship sake!"

Most of our fellows were in the attacking column, though neither I norLarkyns, nor, indeed, any of the other youngsters, were permitted toaccompany them, but I can tell of my own knowledge with what wistfuleyes we watched their progress from the deck of the little spitfire of avessel that I was only on board of on sufferance, I having smuggledmyself in with Larkyns, who was on duty as midshipman of the launch; forthe gunboat had now returned to the barriers further up the river andbegan hammering again at the batteries, in order to divert theirattention from our field column, after assisting to bring up a quota ofthe force and waiting till they disembarked from the boats. 

Gallantly the little band, a compact mass of six hundred men, pursuedtheir way through the treacherous mud, night closing in as theystruggled onward, and the darkness only lit by the flashes of our gunsfiring over the head of the column at the fortifications in their front;the Chinese only replying to our cannonade in a half-hearted fashion, asif they had got weary of the job, leading us thus to believe that the"forlorn hope" had an easy task before it!

But, Larkyns and myself were both deceived, this sudden quiet on thepart of the enemy being really a ruse; for, hardly had the columnreached firm ground than the hitherto silent batteries all at once burstinto a sheet of flame, pouring shot and shell, jinghal balls, riflebullets, in fact every variety of deadly missile known in war, on theheads of our devoted men, at such close quarters, too, that not one inthree escaped the avalanche of destruction!

The Tartar garrison defending the place, we subsequently learnt, usedbows and arrows and matchlocks, in addition to the best modern weapons, the better to discomfit their foes; "those vile red devils ofbarbarians, " as they called us, who had so rashly ventured to tacklethem at close quarters, thinking to "catch a weasel asleep. "

"Oh, Vernon, look, look!" cried Larkyns, as the gloomy night with itsoverhanging pall of smoke from the endless bombardment, which had beengoing on ever since mid-day, was lit up by a crimson glow that enabledus to see every detail of what took place and even recognise thefeatures of some of our officers. "See how they are mowed down--not aman of them will come back alive!"

Saying which, grown lad that he was of seventeen, and courageous andfoolhardy to desperation, he burst into tears, the tension on his nervesfrom the excitement we had all gone through since the early hours ofthat ill-fated morning having completely unmanned him, making him forthe moment a perfect baby!

But I was just as bad; and, to relieve our feelings, we helped themarine gunners, who were pounding away at the rascally Chinese, althoughwe had presently to stay our fire, for fear of hitting friends as wellas foes. 

The end was not far off now, things shortly coming to a climax. 

Half our men fell at the first discharge; but the remainder resolutelyrushed on to the broad ditch in front of the bastion, and about a thirdof these got bravely through this obstruction, some fifty finallyreaching the base of the works. 

There were no scaling ladders, however, wherewith to climb the steepescarpments, no available reinforcements, for every man jack that couldbe spared from the gunboats was there, to fill the voids in the rankswhich dwindled and dwindled each instant; and so at last, although thehandful of heroes who succeeded in getting up to the foremost fort, advancing almost within sight, so to speak, of victory, might possiblyhave held their own where they were until morning, if they had beenallowed to remain, being partly sheltered now by the salient angle ofthe fortification, our senior officer, perceiving the hopelessness ofcontinuing any longer the unequal contest, ordered "the retreat" to besounded. 

Then came the most harrowing scene of all. 

If the Chinese fire had been hot before, its intensity was increasedtenfold as soon as the bugle-call echoed out shrilly between the reportsof the heavy guns and fusillade of the musketry, and the remnants of thegallant little band began to fall back on their boats, retiring inwonderful order despite the cruel pelting they received on all sides, not a wounded man being left behind whose life could be saved. 

A wonder it was, though, as Larkyns said, that a single soul escaped;for the guns which were aimed at the poor, worn-out fellows as theywaded out through the mud to their boats, were now turned on the latteras they got into these, scattering grape as they were massed together, and when the gunboat advanced to their rescue. 

"Boom!" came the round shot hopping over them; and "Bang!" and "Rattle!"and "Rattle!" and "Bang!" they went on incessantly until all were out ofrange, the boats in tow resembling a funeral procession which, with itsweird surroundings, seemed like Holbein's "Dance of Death. "

It was such a ghastly picture, which those who saw it will never forget. 

The lapping water had by this time overflowed the shelving banks of theriver, which spread out far beyond its regular bounds into the reedyplains and marshes on either hand, the swollen stream bringing down, asthe tide ebbed again towards midnight, the wreckage of the gunboats thathad been sunk during the conflict. 

Broken spars and the remnants of the destroyed booms floated along, impeding the progress of the craft that had escaped, and blocking thenarrow channel where only sufficient depth could be obtained to admit oftheir passage out to sea; while the corpses of the slain that had fallenoverboard floated by similarly on the turbid bosom of the Peiho. 

All these baffled our poor fellows who were struggling for their liveswhen the boats upset, and endeavouring to swim to the steamers, which, on their part, were trying their hardest to get across the bar before itwould be too late!

All the time, too, the Manchurian marksmen were busy taking pot-shots atsome unhappy survivor wallowing in the mud under the forts, which werefiring furiously without a moment's cessation, lighting up the hideousscene on which the dark heavens above, without a star to be seen, lookeddown in horror. 

Of the eleven vessels we had engaged from first to last, three weresunk, four disabled, and three more so much damaged as to requireconsiderable repair subsequently before being again fit for service;while out of a total of eleven hundred men who had started off so gailyin the morning to play their part in this tragic play, our casualtiesamounted to five hundred, so that not one half ever returned to swing intheir respective hammocks again. 

"By Jove we have got a thrashing!" said Commander Nesbitt, ruefully, next morning, when Dr Nettleby came to make his report as to the stateof the wounded we had and there was a general counting up of losses. "Ididn't think John Chinaman had it in him to make such a stand!"

"Neither did I, " replied Captain Farmer, who was standing by on thepoop, looking over the taffrail at the spot made memorable by lastnight's carnage, though the whilom muddy river appeared bright enoughnow with the sun shining down on its rippling surface, and no trace ofthe fight of yesterday visible save the masts of one and part of thehull of another of the sunken gunboats in the distance, and the grimforts staring down on them defiantly, apparently quite uninjured by thepounding they had received. "They have certainly given us a licking, but they'll have a very heavy reckoning to pay for their temporarytriumph by-and-by, Nesbitt, or I am very much mistaken! I suppose yourecollect the old proverb, _Hodie mihi, eras tibi_?"

"Can't say I do, sir, " said the commander in answer, scratching his headreflectively as he raised his cap for the purpose, with the objectapparently of quickening his memory by that means. "I'm afraid I'veforgotten all my Latin, sir, long since. What does it mean, eh?"

"`To-day it is my turn, to-morrow it may be yours, '" replied CaptainFarmer, looking as grim as the Taku Fort as he translated the sentencefor the other's benefit. "The Emperor of China had best bear this inmind, for there'll be a pretty fine kick up, I tell you, when they cometo hear of this business in England!"

"You are right there, sir, " agreed Commander Nesbitt. "There will be ajolly row about it in the papers and in Parliament, I know! But it isnone of our fault; we have done nothing to be ashamed of, for we've doneour best!"

"Ay, though defeated we're not disgraced, " said the captain, as he camedown the poop-ladder to go into his cabin. "It's a sad affair, though, a sad affair. We've lost Bitpin and Stormcock and Morgan and that poorlad Jackson amongst the officers killed, besides those wounded, and Ican't say yet how many men, but between thirty and forty, I fear!"

"Yes, sir, it is a bad job, " replied the commander, bending his head andlooking grave for an instant, but the next moment a bright look came inhis face and he shook his fist at the distant forts; "but we'll pay youout yet, pigtails and all, for this day's work!"

"Let us hope so, " said the captain, as he crossed the quarter-deck anddisappeared from view beneath the break of the poop, going into his owncabin to send in his report to our senior officer, Admiral Hope, who wassubsequently invalided home, being so dangerously wounded as to beincapable of attending to any other business after forwarding hisdispatches home. "And, the sooner the better, Nesbitt--the sooner thebetter!" Both officers judged the feeling of their countrymen well, butquite twelve months elapsed before all our preparations were completedfor retaliating on the Chinese and proving to them, in that forciblemode which seemingly only appealed to their reason, that "the worstpiece of work they ever did in their lives was to tread on the tail ofthe British lion, " as Doctor Nettleby observed to Mr Jellaby in myhearing later on the same day. 

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE. 

A GOOD "DEAL. "

In the meantime, the fleet sailed away from the scene of action, afterhonourably burying the dead and destroying our sunken vessels; so thatthe Chinese, who had a weak habit at that time and in later years, too, of indulging in fiction when referring to their martial exploits, shouldnot be able to boast of having captured our ships, the _Candahar_putting in at Hong Kong to refit later on, after visiting Shanghai againon leaving the Gulf of Pechili. 

Here Larkyns, who had succeeded poor Mr Stormcock in his office ascaterer of the gunroom mess, distinguished himself, quite unwittingly, in a financial operation which gained him the credit of being a very"smart" fellow indeed in the sense in which our American cousins use theterm; besides earning for himself the good opinion of all of us in thegunroom, whom he benefited by the exploit. 

It happened in this wise. 

Master Larkyns being ashore one day at Victoria, the chief town of HongKong, which is built up the side of a hill facing the harbour, noticinga lot of people collected round one of the merchant's stores, askednaturally, midshipman like, "What the row was about?"

He was told an auction was going on; so, in he went to see the fun, taking much interest in the biddings. 

Presently, a hogshead of claret was put up by the auctioneer, and, thinking this a good opportunity for laying in a stock for the mess, aswe would be in commission probably in warm latitudes, for the next twoor three years, when the wine would come in rather handy, Larkynslistened eagerly for the price and heard it offered at 12 pounds. 

This seemed a big sum, but, if the worst came to the worst, and hismessmates grumbled at his extravagance, he thought, he could pay for itout of his own pocket, he thought; and so, in his impetuous way, he bid12 pounds, 10 shillings, without waiting for anyone to make an offer, which no one doing, his sudden jump having paralysed the brokerspresent, to his great surprise and joy the wine was knocked down to himat the price he named. 

By-and-by, however, his joy was changed to grief; for, the auctioneerasked him for a cheque or a reference, when he found out that, insteadof buying a single hogshead of claret, as he believed to be the case onbidding for it, he had purchased a whole consignment of the wine, ofwhich the single specimen offered had been a sample--the transactioninvolved the outlay of more than 1500 pounds, which of course he couldnever pay, although he had the 12 pounds, 10 shillings he had offered, and a few pounds more in his pocket as well. 

Here was a pretty to-do; and, he was just wondering whether he shouldsolve the Gordian knot by cutting and running, when, luckily, a manwithout a hat rushed in breathlessly from a neighbouring store, andcoming up to the auctioneer, asked him if the wine was sold yet. 

"You're a bit too late, " replied the master of the rostrum, pointing outLarkyns to his astonished gaze. "I have just knocked it down to thisgentleman. "

"Indeed!" exclaimed the stranger. "At what?"

"Twelve pounds, ten shillings. "

"Ah, that all?" cried the hatless individual; and, turning to Larkyns, he said with an entreating air, "I'll give you an advance of tenshillings a hogshead if you let me have it. "

Our caterer was quite bewildered. 

"I don't mind, " he said at last, looking from the auctioneer to thestranger and back again to his creditor, who stood waiting for the 1500pound cheque. "That is, if this gentleman here is satisfied. "

"Oh, that's all right, " said the auctioneer. "I know Mr --, and hisword is as good as his bond. He'll give you the difference between yourbid and his present offer, and you'll gain something by the deal. "

"By Jove!" cried Larkyns. "I never thought of that, but I wanted somewine for the mess. "

"I daresay we can manage that, " said the buyer, evidently pleased withhis bargain, though had he known of my friend's mistake in time beforehe made his offer he might not have been so generous. "I'll tell youwhat I'll do, I will give you 50 pounds to take over the consignment, and a cask of the wine into the bargain. "

This Master Larkyns readily agreed to, as may be well imagined; and theupshot of the affair was, that our mess funds were 50 pounds richer bythis visit of Larkyns to the auction rooms. 

This enabled us to live "like fighting cocks" while we remained in port;and when the wardroom officers chanced to pay us a visit, which Inoticed they more frequently did now than formerly, we were able tooffer them a glass of claret, which was rather a novelty in those daysin the gunroom mess. 

After refitting, we went for a cruise to the East Indies, where we foundthe new admiral who had come out to replace Admiral Hope; and, in thespring of the following year, having served for eighteen months as anaval cadet, I was promoted to the rank of midshipman, the captain andfirst lieutenant, having convinced themselves of my competency by askingme how I would manage to get a six-pounder to the top of a perpendicularhill, my answer to which question was that I would head it up in a caskand "parbuckle" it up. 

"Glass-eye" smiled rather quizzingly at this, requesting to know whatsort of cask I would employ. I settled him at once, however, by sayingthat a claret cask would do; there having been a joke current of hiscoming to see how the gunroom was getting on about luncheon time, at thetime our wine cellar had been so sumptuously replenished by Larkyns, who, by the way, got his step to acting mate the same month that I wasmade midshipman. 

CHAPTER THIRTY. 

IN A BAMBOO CAGE. 

During the interval that had elapsed since our defeat in front of theTaku Forts, to proceed now to more stirring events, the English andFrench Governments had been organising a joint expedition against China;to demand an apology for the treatment their respective representativeshad received, and insist on the stipulations of the historical Treaty ofTientsin being practically, and not merely formally, adhered to. 

By the middle of the year 1860, the ten thousand men that comprised theEnglish contingent, under the leadership of Sir Hope Grant, hadassembled at Chusan, all ready for the campaign. 

They were not joined here by the French under General Montauban, whomustered only seven thousand bayonets, until some weeks later, ourallies being very dilatory in their movements. 

On the 1st August, this imposing force, a joint army seventeen thousandstrong, which was conveyed up the Gulf of Pechili in no less a numberthan a hundred and twenty transports, escorted by the French and Englishfleets, that totalled over ninety sail, landed at Pahtang, some tenmiles to the north of the Peiho river. Here, their disembarkation wasnot interfered with, our old friends the Chinese expecting us to makeanother assault on the Taku Forts, that had before repulsed us, whichthey had rendered much stronger in the months that had since elapsed. 

But "once bitten twice shy" was our motto; and, by making a march acrosscountry, we defeated a large army, mainly composed of Tartar cavalry, onthe way, our redcoats, in company with the battalions of MonsieurPantalou, made short work of the Chinese "braves. "

The advance of the allies, indeed, was like a triumphal march; for wereached the rear of the Taku Forts on the night of the 20th August andtook the formidable works by storm on the following morning, putting thedefenders to flight and revenging our bloody defeat a year and twomonths after that tragic event. 

The English and French forces then pursued their victorious marchtowards Tientsin, with the intention of penetrating to the capital ofthe emperor, should their just demands not be conceded without anyfurther delay, as well as a heavy indemnity paid for the expense we hadbeen put to by the evasions and treachery of the Manchurian monarch;but, I am not able to speak of my own knowledge of the further progressof the expedition after they had blown up the old forts and thrown openthe entrance to the Peiho. 

An adventure happened to me, which not only prevented me from sharing inthe campaign, but very nearly put a stop to any possibility of my evertelling this yarn. 

This adventure I will now relate. As soon as the obstructions acrossthe mouth of the river, which had previously foiled us, had been removedby working parties of sailors from the fleet, several gunboats went upto Tientsin by water to make provision for the arrival of the main bodywho were marching thither by land; and, amongst other officers of the_Candahar_, Ned Anstruther and I were detailed for this duty, proceedingto the port in question with a battery of artillery and military stores, which we had to see to the landing of near the close of the month. 

Ned and I were glad of the outing, besides escaping from the routine ofthe ship, and when we got to Tientsin we strolled about having a lookround at the queer-looking shops and shanties, the like of which we hadnever seen before. 

Presently we got to some tea-gardens, where a funny old man, with ayellow hat and a pigtail the size of a small hawser, accosted us. 

By signs he invited us to enter a rather nice-looking building, builtjust like one of those little pagodas resembling card-houses that yousee in the right-hand corner of a willow-pattern plate. 

"What a rum old joker!" exclaimed Ned, as the old fellow came up to us. "Chin, chin, Johnny, what you wantchee, no stoppee can do. "

I laughed at Ned's "pijin English, " which the Chinaman evidently did notunderstand: but he bowed courteously and smiled very amiably, throwingopen the door of the card-house in such a pressingly hospitable way allthe while that I could not stand out any longer. 

"Hang it all, Ned!" said I, "let us go in. An old chap like that can'tdo us any harm; and, besides, we've got the cutter's crew within hail!"

"All right, old chap, " replied Ned, taking the old fellow's arm andleading the way in, while I followed him. "Here goes. "

The moment, however, that we had entered the flimsy-looking building thedoor was quickly slammed-to behind us; while a gang of ruffians of thesame kidney as the treacherous old scoundrel who had beguiled us, threwNed and myself on the ground and gagged and pinioned us like a pair oftrussed fowls, before we could call out or make a single movement in ourown defence. 

When they saw that we were properly secured, our uniforms were torn offour backs and a couple of blue cotton shirts, such as the Chinesecoolies wear, pulled over our shoulders, as a sort of disguise. An uglyold pith hat, of the shape of a mushroom, was then jammed down on thetops of our unfortunate heads; and we looked at one another in wonder asto what would come next. 

We were not long in suspense. 

The old chap, who was evidently a person of authority, shouted out someloud order or other, which sounded more like a pig grunting under a gatethan any language I had previously heard spoken, there being a strongswinish flavour in the Chinese lingo, as about their fields, which NedAnstruther and I had smelt coming along on our unlucky walk!

He had evidently given some order to the attendants; for, no sooner hadhe finished grunting than a couple of rum things somewhat like thepalanquins I had seen when at Bombay, were brought in and put down infront of us. 

They were, really, cages made of bamboo, and which only criminals areconfined in, as I afterwards found out. 

Into these, Ned and I were thrust separately, one in each. 

We were then lifted up by the poles attached to our novel sort ofconveyance, two men carrying mine and two more lifting Ned's "trap"--Iknow I felt very much like what a mouse does when caught in one, for Iwas caged with a vengeance--they trotted off with us, through a backdoor, and then along a wide, country road, I knew not whither!

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE. 

"ONE PIECEE CAN DO!"

We could not talk together, for the very good reason that our mouthswere gagged, nor could we see each other now, poor consolation as thatwould have been; although possibly a friendly wink from Ned might havecheered me up a bit under the circumstances, the idea preying on my mindthat it was owing to my fault in persuading him to enter into thetreacherous ambuscade that we had been thus entrapped. 

But whatever Anstruther's reflections might have been I had no means ofknowing, as our bearers trotted onwards with his bamboo palanquinabreast of mine, both of our craft making good headway; the artful, yellow-hatted old scoundrel who had so successfully planned our capturebringing up the rear of the procession and grunting away at a fine ratebehind. 

He was mounted on a diminutive pony, which he straddled in a clumsyfashion, his legs almost touching the ground; while a parasol he heldaloft in one hand nearly poked my eyes out when he came up every now andthen alongside my cage, to see that I was there all right and had notwriggled out of my bonds since his last inspection. 

If I could not speak, like the monkeys in the Zoological Gardens, Ithought the more; all sorts of curious fancies continually coming intomy head as we were thus borne along. 

For one thing, I was not in the least frightened about my fate; for, asthe old chap had not killed us at the first start off, it occurred to methat he had merely taken us prisoners with the view of getting a heavyransom for us by-and-by, being led to the belief that we might beimportant personages on account of his seeing us followed after welanded from the gunboat, by the cutter's crew. 

Our stalwart bluejackets appeared to his little, rat eyes, no doubt, like the retinue of a mandarin with a peacock's feather in his tail atthe least; and this impression had, probably, been confirmed by the factof our being such young fellows, which was a proof of what "big" men wewould be when grown-up! Thinking this, I was in no ways alarmed. Onthe contrary, I chuckled greatly when I recollected what a widelydifferent value the captain or first lieutenant would attach to a coupleof harum-scarum midshipmen to the estimation in which this wily oldkidnapper evidently held us; glorying in the great sell awaiting himwhen he came in his bland innocence to exchange our poor carcases forhard cash!

This anticipation so pleased me, that I began to interest myself in thescenes through which we passed to our as yet unknown destination. 

The one great drawback to my enjoyment of this amusement was that therewas precious little to look at, the country being fiat and dreary in theextreme, and consisting apparently of an endless plain, dotted here andthere with heaps of earth, like mud-pies magnified, with the black Peihoserpentining through it in its snake-like curves. 

Such are the surroundings of Tientsin, which means "A heavenly spot!"

Burying places we met with at regular intervals, for we could easilytell what they were from the ends of the square box coffins peeping outof the soil that only half covered them, while the bones of the departedfrequently covered the earthy track our conductors traversed, which itwould have been a vile libel to have called a road. 

Occasionally, we came near a collection of huts, with conical roofsresembling the form of the extinguisher usually employed in connectionwith a bedroom candlestick. 

"Yellow hat, " however, would not allow the palanquin bearers to stop atany of these villages, as I supposed the huts represented, ourprocession not coming to a halt until late in the afternoon; when, onarriving at a place which, in addition to these huts had a pagoda orjosshouse, the old rascal grunted a little louder than usual to ourbearers and they set down our cages in front of a card-house of the samedescription as that at Tientsin where we had been so nicely "taken inand done for, " as Macan would have expressed it in his Irish vernacular. 

The gags were then dragged, in no very gentle way, from our mouths, andour hands and feet untied, and the leader of the party, in a morepig-like squeak than ever, ordered us to come out of our veryuncomfortable quarters. 

We thought he meant this at least, from the violent gesticulations hemade, waving his arms wildly and hopping about as if he were a parchedpea on a griddle; for, of course, we could not make out his gibberishthough he squealed and grunted at us at a fine rate!

"I suppose he means us to get out, " said Ned Anstruther, glad to be ableto use his tongue again; "but I can't, I'm so cramped. "

"Nor can I, old fellow, " I rejoined. "I'm as stiff as a boiled lobsterand couldn't move to salute the admiral if he came along. "

"I wish to goodness he would, " cried Ned. "Ay, and with a file ofmarines at his back, too. Wouldn't I like to shoot this treacherous oldscoundrel, ay, or string him up to the top of that pagoda there!"

"So would I too, Ned, " I replied heartily. "But, I don't think theyellow rascal means us any harm; at all events, not at present, oldfellow. See, he's actually getting us something to eat, I think. "

"Some nasty mess or other, no doubt, " growled Ned, chafing one of hislegs and then stretching it out. "By Jove, though, I'm beginning to getsome life in my limbs again, but these blessed cords they tied us withstopped my circulation. Here goes!"

So saying, he made an attempt to scramble up, and the old fellow, whohad approached us with a big bowl of rice in both hands, put this downon the ground and gave my companion a lift, afterwards extending thesame courtesy to myself. 

We then stretched our cramped legs a bit; and, presently, sat down onthe outside of our bamboo cages, instead of inside them, beingcomparatively free. 

But, from the way in which the bearers who had carried us, and someother fellows with bows and arrows and broad-bladed knives in theirbelts, closed round us at the word of command from "yellow hat, " wewould have fared ill had we attempted just then to give him and hisretainers "leg-bail. "

We saw this at a glance; so, making the best of a bad business, wecommenced pegging into the rice the old fellow now handed us, which wedid not find at all bad eating. 

It was very well cooked, and besides had a bit of salt fish of some sorton the top of the bowl, which we smelt at intervals, being too small tobite, so as to make the main contents of the dish more appetising. 

"Not bad, " commented Ned, after taking a preliminary mouthful of it fora taste, delving out the rice with his fingers, no spoon or fork beingprovided, and the chopsticks _a la Chinoise_ furnished with the bowlbeing useless to us from our not being accustomed to their propermanipulation. "Better served up, too, than we ever got on board!"

"Yes; I've tasted worse, " said I. "They've cut us rather short with thefish, though, Ned. I think they might have served out enough for afellow to put his teeth through. "

"Perhaps the old chap can't afford it, you know, Jack; and yet, hedoesn't look badly off. That hat of his would fetch something in an oldcurio shop, and so would his breeches too. By Jove, they're big andbaggy enough for a Dutchman twice his size. "

At this we both laughed, whereupon the old chap, thinking we did so inhigh appreciation of his viands, smiled and nodded, patting his fatstomach and saying in his guttural tones, "Bono, Johnny, goot--goot!"

"By Jove!" exclaimed Ned, quite startled. "You speak English?"

"Mi one piecee can do, " replied the other, with a broader smile thatmade him look quite venerable, the deceitful old wretch! "No goodeenumber one chop!"

"Oh, you can speak it well enough, " replied Ned, as our friend said thisin "Pijin English, " implying that although he could manage a little ofour language he was not a first-rater at it. "What wantchee can do, myone two?"

Ned pointed at the same time towards me, and then indicated himself, requesting in this idiotic jargon to be informed of our fate. 

"Yellow hat's" reply was not of a reassuring character, although heuttered no word. What he did was, to draw the forefinger of his dirtyhand across his throat in the most unpleasant manner. 

Ned shuddered at this; and, I confess, so did I. Seeing the effect hisgesture had produced, the old chap, smiling affably, proceeded tojustify the extreme course he had suggested. 

"Yang-kei-tze catchee one Chinaman, one piecee shootee chop chop, " heargued, on the retaliatory principle, which, of course, held good inwar, although no comfort to us at the moment. "Chinaman one pieceecatchee Yang-kei-tze, mi takee Pekin. "

"And what will be done with us there?" The old scoundrel answered thisquestion in the same mode as before; his action being if possible evenmore expressive. 

"I say, Ned, show him a dollar or two, " I said, not liking his humblysuggestive way of stating that we were going to be taken to Pekin andthere beheaded--at least that was what I gathered from the conversation. "Perhaps he'll be open to silver reason if we argue on the other sideof the question?"

Ned pulled a handful of money out of his pocket, at the sight of whichthe old chap's little eyes glistened and he smiled more genially; but, he shook his head. 

"No one piecee take can do, " he said sorrowfully, as if it went to hisheart to refuse it. "Talkee, talkee no bono, mi takee Pekin chop chop, Yang-kei-tze catchee one piecee by by. "

He then turned away to give some order to the men, and Ned seized theopportunity of his being out of earshot to speak to me. 

"I think he's open to argument, Jack, " he said encouragingly, seeing Ilooked rather glum at the prospect before us now, although I had been solight-hearted before, not thinking things were going to turn out sobadly as they now appeared. "The old chap, as you can see for yourself, with all those soldiers about him, must keep up his reputation as abloodthirsty foe to all foreigners; or else, he'd lose his billet as amandarin and have that rum old tile of his taken from him! But, hetipped me a wink, Jack; didn't you see him? That means business, andtells me as plain as a pikestaff that he's open to be bribed to get usoff by-and-by, although he is forced to take us first to Pekin. Theywant as many of us as they can catch, you know, to show to their blessedemperor as a proof of their having licked us again, and `wiped out' allthe red devils--that's what Yangkei-tze, means, `red devils, ' though itsounds very like Yankee! Ain't that so, old chappie, and don't youagree?"

He jingled the money which he still held in his hand, addressing hislast remark to our friend "yellow hat, " who had approached us againafter conferring with his men; and, catching the sound, he nodded hishead and gave Ned a perceptible wink, as if he thoroughly understoodwhat he had said, and would be our friend--for a consideration!

The bearers then coming up, the old chap motioned us to take our placesin the bamboo cages, although he did not offer to gag or bind us again;when, on our being seated, our travelling prisons were raised to themen's shoulders and we resumed our journey. 

CHAPTER THIRTY TWO. 

ON THE ROAD TO PEKIN. 

As we got further up the countryside, we saw numbers of gardens full ofpeach trees, the fruit of which was plentiful enough, with an occasionalpoplar grove, the usual decoration of a cemetery; while the villagesbecame more frequent, too, and more populous, one meeting us almost atevery mile. 

The people that we met, however, received us in a very puzzling fashion, coming round our cages to look at us, as if we were so many wildanimals, and roaring with laughter at our appearance; even the verybabies crowing with merriment on our being pointed out to them by theirfond parents, much to Ned's disgust, although I joined in with theirhilarity, it was really so hearty and catching!

That night we all slept together in one of the inns along the road, where, although the bed-place was fixed, it had plenty of moving tenantsbefore our arrival; and, I'm sorry to say, we carried off a few of themwhen we went away in the morning, and suffered in consequence. 

But beyond this little personal matter, which is a mere detail to anyonetravelling in China, and the staring of the inhabitants, we did notsuffer much inconvenience during our journey, the old fellow in chargeof us giving us the best food he could get, in the shape of rice andeggs, the latter of which were sometimes in such a state of perfectionthat they deserved to have been promoted to the rank of poultry; and, onthe third day after leaving Tientsin, although the distance between thetwo places must be eighty or ninety miles, we saw the walls of Pekin infront of us. 

So our guide, the old chap, told us, at least; but, although the sightof this celestial city is asserted by the Chinese to "strike awe" intothe beholder on first sighting it, we should not have known we weregazing on such an imposing object as the capital of China undoubtedlyis!

On closing up with the town, we passed a collection of tombs with stonetortoises carrying memorial tablets on their backs, and other signs ofmourning, and a josshouse; and we soon after this entered Pekin by agranite causeway over a tumble-down bridge, passing for some distancealong, the massive walls, which were some fifty feet in height and ofequal thickness. 

"Yellow hat" was evidently anxious to keep us as private as possible;for, he hurried the bearers through the streets, which, though dirty, were wide, and the buildings on either side, with their roofs of glazedyellow tiles and fronts all carved and gilded, looked showy enough inthe sunshine. 

It was like a panorama, being thus carried through these strangestreets, with the people stopping to look at us, but not behaving at allrudely, although our army must have been known to be marching on thecapital; and Ned and I absolutely enjoyed it, noting as we sailed pastthe temples and curio shops and pagodas and all, the constant stream ofumbrella-bearing passers-by and the fact that nearly all the old menheld birds in their hands tied on to sticks, looking just like thosewooden monkeys which pedlars hawk about at home for the delectation ofrustic juveniles. 

"Yellow hat" told us subsequently, with reference to this curiouspicture of their domestic life, that it was the custom of the country soto take out their pet canaries and other little songsters for an airing, instead of lapdogs. 

These they reserve for their pies and other choice dishes. 

Ned and I seemed to pass through miles of real nightmares as we wentalong, the people and their surroundings having an air of unreality. 

The only things about Pekin we thought genuine were the smells, whichwere something awful; as we learnt from bitter experience during ourfour weeks' captivity here, locked up in a cell with all the commoncriminals, and, I believe, all the vermin of the city. 

Somehow or other, the old man had mysteriously disappeared after leavingus at a quiet inn in the Tartar quarter, where, as well as we couldunderstand him, we were to remain until he had a chance of communicatingwith the approaching English force to have us ransomed. 

"Chin, chin!" he said to Ned as he left us. "Mi go one piecee and yowaittee; Fanqui comee one piecee by by. "

The next day, instead of his coming back again, a file of rough Tartarsbelonging to Prince Sankoliu-sin's army rushed into the room where wewere, and throwing us roughly on the floor, proceeded to strip us ofeverything we had about us, leaving us only our shirts, which wererather ragged by this time and not in a condition to do our laundresscredit!

We were, after this, cruelly tied with ropes that cut our wrists andankles, and then dragged to prison, where we remained until one day weheard the booming of guns in the distance. 

"Good heavens, Jack!" cried poor Ned, who was by this time the wreck ofhis former self, and whom nobody on board the ship certainly would haverecognised, "Those must be Armstrongs! I know the sound of them toowell. Thank God, our comrades now are near at last to release us orrevenge us!"

Later on, the same day, some Chinese soldiers entered, instead of theusual Tartar guard which we had seen since we had been in this hole; andthese, putting chains round our necks, marched us off, as we thought, toexecution. 

"Good-bye, Ned, old fellow, if they separate us, " said I. "Should youescape, please tell my old Dad about me, and the people at home. "

"Nonsense, Jack, " he replied, trying to laugh it off. "If we die, we'lldie together. But, I should like to pay out old `yellow hat' first. ByJove, I should like to see him now!"

Talk of--angels!

At that every moment, as we were passing through a narrow stone passagebeneath the walls of the city, as we judged from their height, the veryindividual of whom Ned had been speaking the instant before appeared onthe scene; and, all I can say is, that if we had thought him the reverseof an angel previous to his coming, we were, on the contrary, inclinedto believe him to be the genuine article as soon as he told us hiserrand!

It was to release us, and take my poor emaciated and ragged comrade andmyself to the English camp. 

Then it was that we heard the news that had happened since ourimprisonment. 

Sir Hope Grant, with the French troops under Montauban, had fought theirway up to Yuen-ming-Yuen, the Summer Palace of the emperor. 

This place, I may mention, was subsequently burnt to the ground by theEnglish, after the French had looted it and carried off more than amillion's worth of plunder, leaving only the husks of the spoil for ourgallant men, who had done all the hard work of the campaign!

The Summer Palace was burnt, I should explain, as a punishment for thecruel murder by the Chinese of a number of our officers and men, as wellas poor Mr Boulby, the special correspondent of the _Times_, all ofwhom had been taken prisoners and tortured to death, though at the timethey were under the protection of a flag of truce!

Our troops had pretty well paid out the Chinese before this, however;their infantry being annihilated and the Tartar cavalry of PrinceSanko-liu-sin "doubled up" by our dragoons. 

This news "yellow hat" told us on our way to the English camp oppositeto the Anting gate to the north of the city, explaining that the reasonwe had not seen him before was that he had gone away trying to opencommunications with our friends, and that he had made arrangements thatno harm should befall us in his absence. 

"It didn't look much like it, though, half-an-hour ago!" said I, onNed's translating this to me, his knowledge of Chinese, originallypretty good, having increased considerably during our long detentionamongst our criminal companions of the prison. "That ugly beggar nextme seemed just about to slice off your head like a carrot when he turnedup. "

"Better late than never, old chap, " said Ned, with a grin. "He mightn'thave turned up at all!"

The next moment, we passed a couple of men of the Royals who were doingout-post duty; and, ere we could realise the fact almost, we wereamongst friends and comrades once more!

This was on the 10th October, on which day Sir Hope Grant sent a demandto the Chinese authorities that unless the Anting gate was surrenderedby the 13th, or in three days' time, the city would be bombarded. 

The morning of the 13th came, but the Chinese were still unyielding; so, the guns in front of the fortifications were sponged out and run backready for loading, with the gunners standing by awaiting the order tofire. 

Every heart beat high with expectation, and it looked as if we weregoing to have a last fight of it; when, just on the minute of the hourfixed for the ultimatum to expire, the gates were thrown open and thedefences of the city surrendered to the English army. 

Another minute, and the Union Jack was floating over the walls of Pekin. 

The rest is a matter of history. 

CHAPTER THIRTY THREE. 

AT HONG KONG AGAIN!

"Hullo, Bamboo Jack!" cried Larkyns, as I came up the side of our oldship again after a tedious voyage down the Peiho in one of the gunboats, accompanied by Ned Anstruther, my comrade not merely in arms but incaptivity. "Chin, chin, my hearty, I'm delighted to see you and Nedsafe and sound, after all your wanderings and wonderful adventures, which a little bird, not caged, though, has told us of! Come below, now, to the gunroom, old chap, and have `one piecee chow chow, ' and spinus a yarn about it all yourself. It seems like old times seeing yourugly old phiz once more, by Jove!"

All the other fellows, too, appeared quite as pleased to see us bothback, except that surly brute Andrews, who looked as if he wished theChinese had made puppy pies of Ned and myself. 

Truth to say, I was jolly glad myself to be on board again with mymessmates, amid the old familiar scenes and surroundings. 

Indeed, when swinging in my hammock the first night after my return, Ifancied all that occurred was but a dream--so it seemed to my heatedimagination--and that I had never left the _Candahar_ for a day, norpassed through such exciting experiences!

A week or so later, after all the details of our treaty with the ChineseGovernment had been settled, and Lord Elgin departed from Pekin on hisway to Europe on the conclusion of his highly successful mission, welikewise weighed anchor before the Gulf of Pechili should be closed bythe ice and our egress therefrom barred for the winter months; and then, bidding a long farewell to the poetically-named but "beastly hole of aplace, " as Mr Jellaby called it, the "Bay of the Wide-spreading-sandIslands, " we sailed for Hong Kong. 

Here we arrived at the end of November, the north-east monsoon being allin our favour, and the current along the coast as well; both thesefavouring causes making the old _Candahar_ travel as if "Old Nick" wasafter her. 

None of us were sorry to be amongst an English-speaking community oncemore, with its attendant advantage of our being able to procure most ofthe comforts and luxuries of civilised life, for our commissariat was inthe most deplorable condition. 

My friend Larkyns, able caterer of the mess as he had hitherto provedhimself to be from the date of his deposing poor Mr Stormcock up to ourgoing to the Peiho, was at his wits' end to replenish our sadly-depletedlarder, which brought on the head of the unfortunate Dobbs every day atdinner more abuse than even the long-suffering steward could well bear. 

The fact was, really, fish and rice were the only articles of food to beobtained to diversify our stock fare of pickled pork and salt horse fromthe neighbouring inhabitants of this northern portion of the domain ofthe Ruler of the Universe, and Emperor of the Sun, Moon and Stars; forour French allies had so bullied and plundered all the Celestials in theimmediate vicinity on the seaboard that those dwelling in the interior, where provisions of all sorts was quite plentiful, were too frightenedof the ferocious and light-fingered Gauls to care to come forward withtheir goods--although, we invariably paid for all we had from thenatives in good, sound dollars, the reverse of the practice of MessieursAchille and Jules of the Chasseurs a Pied who generally reimbursed "cespauvres betes des Chinois" for what they unceremoniously appropriated, with true Parisian deviltry, "in kind" of the most unkindly description!

Under these circumstances, the gourmands of the gunroom were mostunfeignedly delighted at abandoning such an inhospitable region as thatof "The Widespreading-sand Island, " where they had to starve in themidst of plenty; so likewise was I, the only thing which I had to thankour sojourn off the province of Shan-tung for being the nickname Larkynsgave me in his sportive fancy on my return on board from Pekin after myimprisonment. 

This was, certainly, nothing to be proud of; and yet, such is theincongruity of things, the sobriquet stuck to me from that day to this, following me about from ship to ship while I have been on activeservice. 

Some fellow, whom I had never previously seen in my life, perhaps, orknew from Adam, accosts me immediately on hearing my proper patronymic, with a sudden lighting up of face and hand outstretched as if I were anold friend. "Oh, yes; why, I've heard of you before, I think, old chap!Ain't you Bamboo Jack, eh?"

This, of course, is extremely gratifying, illustrating the truth of theadage, which my poor old Dad used to quote to me frequently enough, that"More people know Tom Fool than Tom Fool knows!"

We all of us enjoyed our long stay at Hong Kong, accordingly, the_Candahar_ having a thorough overhaul and refit with the rest of thefleet, now that the campaign was over; for, the residents wereaccordingly hospitable and kind to us, including the principal merchantsof the place and the government officials, as well as the militarystationed at Kowloon on the mainland opposite, where there was a largecamp--all of them keeping open house, where we were welcomed at allhours, dinners, balls, picnics and all sorts of festivities being theorder of the day while we remained in Victoria Bay. 

Our ship, however, nearly left her bones behind her here during aterrific typhoon that sprang up of a sudden, on the eve of ourdeparture; when all the junks and fishing-boats in the harbour werewrecked, besides several trading vessels and most of the flimsier of thebuildings ashore demolished. 

We dragged our anchors in the very height of the storm, although we weremoored securely with both bowers down; and, it was only by goodseamanship and the active exertions of all hands that we escaped, cutting our cables and putting to sea for safety, so as to let the oldbarquey brave it out on her own element, which she gallantly did. 

When we were all ataunto again, we sailed for Bombay, whither theadmiral had preceded us; and from thence, after a grand entertainment atthe celebrated Biculla Club, we were despatched on detached service, spending the summer months in cruising up the Persian Gulf and about theIndian Ocean hunting up pirates and Arab slave dhows, in pursuit ofwhich we ran down the East African coast as far as the MozambiqueChannel. 

We captured a lot of slavers, laden with cargoes of poor wretches that, but for our release of them, would have spent the remainder of theirdays in picking cloves at Pemba, or serving the Egyptians like theIsraelites of old; and, giving a look in at Zanzibar, we handed over ourprizes, for each of which we had a bounty of so much per head on theslaves captured, besides the value of the dhows we did not destroy. Wethen returned to Bombay whence we were ordered back to the Chinastation, making our old port, Hong Kong, again at the beginning ofspring in the following year. 

From here, in company with the admiral and most of our fleet in theeastern seas at that time, we paid a visit to each of the Treaty Ports, which, mainly through the efforts of England, had been thrown open tothe commerce of the world, and by which not only has the Manchestercotton spinner and Birmingham hardware dealer profited, but the empireof China herself and her people. 

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR. 

HOMEWARD BOUND. 

It was getting on for the expiration of the fourth year of ourcommission, when we had finished this tour and we paid a last visit toHong Kong, before going on to Singapore to await our relief fromEngland. 

Here, having been over three years a midshipman and being speciallyrecommended for promotion by Captain Farmer, there being three captainsin port to constitute our examining board, according to the Admiraltyregulations, I passed for lieutenant; whereupon, I was given an actingcommission as mate until my return home, when, on getting mycertificates in gunnery and steam at the Naval College, I would beentitled to my epaulets--the which, I may here state, I ultimatelyobtained in due course. 

At Singapore, we sweltered from the month of April, when our relief wasdue, up to June without her even putting in an appearance; and, we wereall beginning to believe she had gone down to "Davy Jones's locker" andthat we were never going to be relieved at all, when one fine morning, as our hearts were getting sick within us, the ship was sighted in theoffing. 

I don't think I can ever forget the excitement and enthusiasm aroused onboard as the news became known, and on her coming up with the sea breezeat breakfast-time everybody seemed to go mad with joy, the officersshaking hands with each other all round and the men crowding the riggingand cheering the _Daphne_ as she passed up to her anchorage inside ofus. 

That very same afternoon, being all ready and waiting, we sailed fromSingapore for the Cape, "homeward bound. "

What a night that was down below in the gunroom. 

Although it was not Saturday evening, when our weekly sing-song wasusually celebrated, youngsters and oldsters alike united with a commonimpulse to have a general hullabaloo, their efforts resulting in such arow as never had been heard, I believe, on board the old _Candahar_before, and, I am equally positive, has not been equalled since, evenafter she became a harbour ship and was reduced to her present conditionof "Receiving Hulk. "

I can fancy I see the scene now before me as I write these last lines ofmy yarn. 

There were Larkyns and Ned Anstruther, both of whom, like myself, hadpassed through the chrysalis stage of midshipmen and came within thecategory of oldsters, the one with a banjo, and the other handling abroken-down concertina, very wheezy about the gills; with little TommyMills, who was only a "midshipmite" still, in every sense of the word, accompanying them with a rattling refrain from a pair of ivory castanetswhich he had purchased for a paper dollar in a curio shop at Canton. 

All the rest of the fellows were shouting out at the pitch of theirvoices, as only middies and mates and such-like fry can shout, thechorus of the old sailors' song:--

 "We'll rant and we'll roar like true British sailors, We'll rant and we'll roar all on the salt seas, Until we strike soundings in the Channel of Old England; From Ushant to Scilly 'tis thirty-five leagues!"

Those on the deck above, however, did not wait until we had arrived "insoundings"; for, just as the song was being repeated by acclamation forthe third time, the chorus getting louder and louder after eachrepetition, Sergeant Macan, as he now was, having gained his extrastripes soon after his reinstatement as corporal for his gallantry inthe assault on the Taku Forts, appeared at the door of the gunroom inhis old fashion, being yet retained by express permission as DrNettleby's factotum. 

"Plaize, yer 'onner, " said he, addressing Larkyns, who was still catererof the mess and the senior in rank of those present, as he was twangingaway at his banjo with infinite zest, "the docthor sez if ye can't beaisy he axes ye to be as aisy as ye can. "

An uproarious shout was all the answer he got; and, grinning from ear toear, he retreated, only to be succeeded by the master-at-arms, who camedown to put out the lights by the commander's orders, when those who hadnot to go on night duty turned in and peace was restored. 

Sailing with the south-west monsoon, we did not have so speedy a passagehomeward as we did when outward bound, but we made way southward as wellas we could, close-hauled, and reached the Cape two months after passingthrough Java Heads. 

At Simon's Bay we refitted ship and took in fresh supplies; and while weremained getting these latter on board several old friends came to seeus from Cape Town. 

Amongst these was no other than Don Ferdinando Olivarez, who told us hehad given up the sea as a profession. 

He still adventured on the deep, however, despite his memorableexperiences of its perils; for, he said, he had to voyage about a gooddeal from port to port in the prosecution of his new avocation as theagent for a large firm of wine exporters at Cadiz, where he lived whenat home, being now married. 

At Captain Farmer's request, Don Olivarez took passage with us toMadeira; and while on board with us made himself, if possible, betterliked than before. 

All of us parted with him with regret when he left us at Funchal, wherewe put in to land him and correct an error in our chronometers, whichhad gone wrong from an accident resulting from a violent thunderstorm wefell in with when crossing the Equator for the last time, in which theship got struck by the lightning, when the captain's cabin, where thechronometers were kept, was seriously damaged by the electric fluid. 

From Madeira to England we had fair winds and fine weather, crossing theBay of Biscay, which had given us so much trouble going out, with allour kites flying and the wind well in the quarter, which made all theold hands say that the "Portsmouth girls had got hold of our towrope. "

Talking of the men, Master "Downy, " the ex-gravedigger, although he hadbeen scraped into something of a sailor in appearance in the time he hadbeen afloat, now nearly five years, in which period, by the way, he hadaccumulated enough prize-money to more than discharge the debts he hadleft behind on quitting his country, could never be taught to be smartin his movements, always going about the deck as if he were engaged at afuneral. 

One day, a wag on the forecastle, as we heard through the marine sentry, took a good rise out of this slow-going individual. 

"Hi, Downy!" said he, seeing him creeping forward, with his eyes bentdown, counting the planks, apparently. "Chips, the carpenter's mate, wants to see you, sonny. "

"See me?" repeated the other, wonderingly. "What does he want to see mefor?"

"Why, " said the other, "he wants to measure you for your coffin. Hesays you're more'n half dead already, cos you crawls about like acripple. Only you're so bloomin' lazy, you'd die out and out at onceand be chucked overboard comfortable like!"

Downy did not make any reply to this, which was an acknowledgment of hishaving the worst of it, as he was generally credited with possessing thegift of the gab and not easily silenced. 

Another queer old stick came to the sick bay complaining of being ill, notwithstanding that he looked hale and hearty. 

"What's the matter with you?" asked Dr Nettleby, in his sharp, incisivemanner, which had not grown any milder from his sojourn in the China Seaand an attack of liver complaint. "You seem all right, my man. "

"I've got overhand knots in my gaffs, sir. "

"What on earth do you mean?" cried the doctor, puzzled by the name ofthis new disease. 

"Overhand knots in your gaffs--why, you must be drunk!"

"No, sir, I ain't, " replied the old sailor, soberly enough, holding outhis hands, which were twisted about, the fingers resembling the strandsof a rope overlaying each other, and the knuckles distorted out ofshape. "My spars, sir, refuses duty. "

He had very aptly described his complaint, although it might not besimilarly designated in any medical dictionary. 

The poor fellow was suffering from rheumatism!

CHAPTER THIRTY FIVE. 

"PAID OFF!"

But it is time to bring this long yarn of mine to a close. 

It was a fine, bright day, in the early part of October, that we hovethe ship to for soundings, our observations then showing us that we werenear Scilly and closing the land; so, on getting sand and shells atfive-and-thirty fathoms, which proved that we were well within the Chopsof the Channel, we squared away our mainyard before a brisk sou'-westbreeze and made for the Lizard, which we sighted at Four Bells in theforenoon watch. 

We then bore up Channel direct, and, the wind holding fair, we passedSaint Catharine's Point next morning; saluting the port admiral on ourrounding Bembridge Ledge and anchoring at Spithead somewhere aboutmid-day. 

"By jingo!" cried Mr Jellaby, who was now our first lieutenant, havinggained a step by the promotion of our former chief officer, "glass-eye;"though most of the old officers who had sailed with me from England paidoff in the ship with us, there having been few changes in ourcomplement, whether through death, disease or desertion, beyond thelosses we had experienced in our unsuccessful attack on the Taku Forts, and from the subsequent sickness we had aboard when we were up the Gulfof Pechili in the hot season. "How jolly glad I shall be to see thegeneral's daughters again, young Vernon; what chawming gurls they were, to be sure! I do hope they're not all married!"

"Indeed, sir?" said I, interrogatively. "I hope they're not, I'm sure, for your sake, if not for their own. But, I'm not thinking, now of anyyoung ladies, sir. I'm looking forward to seeing my dear old Dad again, and my mother and sister. "

"Ah, that's what you say now, my boy, " he retorted, with his geniallaugh. "But, when your whiskers are grown, like mine, you'll bethinking of some other fellow's sister, I bet. "

His surmise might have been correct; though all I need add on this pointis that my old friend "Joe" is now an admiral, with grown-up daughtersof his own, and from his austere manner no one would ever dream of hissusceptible nature and flirtive disposition in the days of which Ispeak. 

Not so Larkyns, who is the same sprightly, merry fellow as of old, albeit his hair is streaked with grey, and the crowsfeet winkle in thecorners of his eyes when he laughs, as he is ever doing. 

But, my dear old Dad, who came on board the ship to see me while she wasat Spithead, without waiting for her to go into harbour, he, like "PoorTom Bowling" of the song, has now "gone aloft;" my mother following him, within an early date of his departure to that bourne whence no travellerreturns. 

Gone where I hope to meet them both by-and-by; for, I can honestly say, that, beyond trying to do my duty when wearing Her Majesty's uniform, Ihave considered myself always as serving "Under the Pen'ant" of even ahigher power, and hope, perhaps, to earn a crown like that which I knowmy poor father strove for ever, when I come also to my last anchorage. 

Ay, even as our dead laureate has sung in his deathless verse:--

"For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place The flood may bear mefar, I hope to see my Pilot face to face When I have crost the bar. "

THE END.